


Tell Me That It'll All Work Out (Even if it Won't)

by Marionette_Madness



Category: LazyTown
Genre: Alternate Universe - Normal Life, Angst, Depression, Divorce, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Abuse, Single Parents, Slow Burn, Verbal Abuse, might have also named her after my stepmom, might have created an ex wife character for the sake of plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2019-07-15 10:50:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 54,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16061576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marionette_Madness/pseuds/Marionette_Madness
Summary: When two strangers move into the apartment below Sportacus and Stephanie, the father-daughter duo are more than excited to befriend their new neighbors. Despite their efforts, though, the man and girl are closed off, their dynamic tarnished by some unspoken sadness.Sportacus and Stephanie will do everything they can to bring some ray of happiness into their neighbors' lives.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oh. my. gosh. I'm finally posting this. Y'all may not believe it, but I have been working on this fanfiction for over a year now. I made the decision not to post anything until I was done or nearly done and had typed up every chapter once I finished. As of posting this first chapter, this work has filled up four and a half notebooks with twenty chapters written and eighteen typed. I've put a lot of heart into it. 
> 
> Due to Stefan's recent passing, I wasn't sure if it would be right posting this. I've seen some writers stop their works out of respect, while others kept going. So I was conflicted for a bit. But with the help of some of my followers from my Lazytown blog, I decided that Stefan would want us to keep creating, to keep being inspired by the show that touched our hearts as children and as adults. Throwing away this piece after putting so much time into it wouldn't change anything, it would only mean I spent almost two years working on a story that only I would ever read.
> 
> So, I dedicate this work to our Number One Plant Dad, Stefan Karl Stefansson. May he rest in peace.

It was a terribly dreary, rainy day.

Not the fun kind where you could run outside and splash in the puddles or play in the mud; it was the kind where everything is grey and heavy and all you want to do is curl up in bed and go back to sleep, despite it only being a little after noon.  One of those days where all you could do was stare out the window and hope something interesting would pass by.

But luckily for Stephanie, that interesting thing just so happened to be a moving truck.

    It was hard to see through the collection of raindrops on the window, but she could make out the movers carrying furniture into the building. She felt a subtle twinge of sadness when she realized none of the furniture was covered, leaving it exposed to the downpour of rain. Thinking about the wet furniture and the tenants that would have to spend the dreary day drying and unpacking everything made Stephanie a slightly upset. But that certainly didn't stop her from being a little excited.

    "Dad, come look!" She called out her open bedroom door, wanting her dad to see what was going on beyond the blurry window.

After a moment, he walked through her door, blue work out shirt and loose jeans contrasting with the pink room, his face full of bright, happy energy, despite the dreary, rainy day.

    "What am I looking at?" He asked curiously, wondering what had the girl so excited, despite the rain and gloom outside that usually left her horribly lethargic.

    She grinned and pointed out the window at the moving truck, "There's new people moving in!"

    He leaned past his daughter to look out of the window, frowning slightly when he spotted the soaked furniture being hauled into the building by the movers.

    "We'll have to visit later," He suggested to his daughter, "to cheer them up, they didn't choose a very good day to move in."

Stephanie scooted on her small bench to allow her dad to sit beside her and watch as well. It wasn't incredibly interesting, though Stephanie got momentarily excited when the movers carried out a small, child sized bed frame, promising a future playmate for the girl.

But things quickly became more interesting when a large armchair was lifted from the truck. Stephanie gasped, then immediately broke off into loud giggling; her father couldn't help but laugh as well in perplexed amusement.

"What is _that_?" The girl laughed, pointing at the orange monstrosity that the movers were struggling with. It stuck out like a sore thumb against the greys and blues of the day, bright orange and oddly furry.

"Our new neighbors must certainly be..." The man mumbled, hesitant and unsure how to voice his thoughts, "interesting."

"Can I bake them a cake?" Stephanie asked excitedly, "I promise to clean up afterwards! Pretty please?"

"I don't know, Stephanie," Her dad hummed, thin eyebrow arched in slight disapproval, "they might not like cake."

Stephanie rolled her eyes, though she grinned teasingly, "Dad, I think you're the only one in the whole _world_ that doesn't like cake."

"You know that's not true," He scolded light-heartedly, "plenty of people don't like sweets."

It wasn't that he hated sweets, _per se_ , it was just that after so many years of cutting out refined sugar and processed food, he couldn't help but stop craving sweets, possibly even growing sick if he consumed them. Stephanie accepted the fact easily, but it definitely baffled her young, sugar fueled mind.

"Yeah, but not as much as you!" She huffed, poking her dad's arm teasingly, "I just want to do something nice, if they don't like cake, they can just throw it away!"

Her dad couldn't argue the girl's logic or even attempt to change her mind; once she set her mind on something, she'd do anything in her power to get it accomplished. Smiling fondly, he ruffled the girl's pink hair, causing her to pout, but eventually grin while she batted away the man's hand.

"Fine, you can make a cake," Her dad sighed, finally giving in, "but remember to clean up after -- and don't eat too much frosting!"

But Stephanie had already sprinted out of her room in her hurry to get started on the cake, pretending that she didn't hear the last part of her dad's sentence. He sighed, albeit fondly, after the girl and looked out te window a final time, just in time to see two figures running through the rain and into the building, pressed together close under a gaudy purple umbrella.

\- - - - - - - - - - -  

Usually, he loved the rain.

Rainy days promised him he could sleep in, shut out the world without the sun peaking through the curtains to try and guilt him into getting out of bed. He already had a daughter to do that for him, so the guilt-tripping sun was grossly unnecessary. Rainy days were his favorite, but not what he was experiencing now, the downpour quickly soaking his poor, beloved armchair and the rest of his furniture as it was hauled into the building.

Robbie sighed and pushed his wet bangs out of his eyes, casting a quick look over to his daughter, who didn't seem to notice, instead continuing to stare out the window glumly -- lately her mouth always seemed to be pulled into a permanent frown.

Unlike her father, Ella remained dry, simply due to the fact that Robbie had to keep getting out of the car to give the movers instructions, somehow forgetting his umbrella every single time.

"What if they break something?" She asked quietly, glaring when she noticed a mover fumbling with one of the many boxes.

"They promised they wouldn't." Robbie shrugged, not sure how to settle the girl's distrust.

"People lie."

Well, he couldn't argue that.

    So they went back to their silence, patiently watching the movers haul their furniture into the new apartment. After while, a final mover exited the apartment and gave a thumbs up from across the parking lot, signaling that they were done.

Robbie sighed and reached around for his large, purple umbrella, opening it up when he clambered out of the car, though it was more for Ella's sake at that point than his own. He helped the girl out of the car and they ran through the parking lot as fast as they could without slipping, both out of breath by the time they reached their new front door.

    The tall man opened the door with a flourish, hurrying into the apartment without much thought, too adamant on the idea of finally _resting_ and shutting out the world for just a moment. But he immediately found himself sprawled out on the wet tile of the entrance, his backside aching from the impact. It had somehow _slipped_ his mind that a group of movers, soaked with rain, had been walking in and out of the apartment for the past hour. How _stupid_ of him.

    He spluttered and muttered incoherent obscenities as he pulled himself from the floor, throwing a glare at Ella, who was laughing at his misfortune.

"Ha, ha, very funny," He grumbled, rubbing his back to try and alleviate the soreness, "remind me to laugh next time you trip and fall, because, _apparently_ , it's the funniest thing in the world."

"It is." The girl answered simply, stepping past her grumpy father and onto the damp, grey carpet where she wouldn't slip.

Her laughter hadn't lasted very long, but Robbie was happy and slightly relieved to see that the barest form of a smile clung to her lips. Lately, Ella rarely smiled, her expression either blank or painted with a scowl that strongly resembled her father's. It worried him, sure, but Robbie hoped moving would help her somehow. A fresh start, or something like that. Or maybe it would blow up in his face, like most things did.

Ella wandered off to her new room without a word, having designated it as hers when they first decided on the apartment, and locked herself inside with a quick turn of the lock. A long sigh escaped her and she couldn't help but rub her face wearily -- something she had picked up unconsciously from her father.

It had been such a long day and all she wanted to do was curl up in bed with one of her music boxes to drown out her own thoughts. But there was no bed to curl up in, just a wet bedframe and a room filled with damp cardboard boxes packed with her things. She almost wanted to cry, but choked down the bubbling sadness and scrubbed furiously at her eyes, not wanting her dad to figure out how sad she actually was.

Everything was just a lot easier if she kept her emotions to herself and out of whatever situation she found herself in -- it was better to be blank, like a doll. Dolls didn't have to think, all they did was sit there and look pretty without a care in the world.

Honestly, at that point, it was her only choice; if she let her true emotions surface, she might fall apart.

Standing in her new, empty room, it was one of those moments where she felt shaky, on the verge of tears and unable to choke them down. So instead of unpacking, she sifted through the boxes for her favorite music box - thankfully undamaged by the careless movers - and her purple, striped comforter before hiding herself deep in the barren closet. In the dark she could close her eyes and shut out the world, keep calm and let her fingers twist the small key and fill the space with gentle music.

Her fingers ran over the details she had memorized by heart; the gold designs etched into the sides of the lavender box, the smooth glass covering the simple, yet fascinating machinery that produced the music she loved, and the small, detailed shape of the purple clad ballerina that spun and danced forlornly within her confines.

Ella liked to imagine that the lonely dancer was her friend -- her best and only friend in the whole world.

Time passed in smooth succession along with the chiming of the melody, stuttering and slowing, then picked back up by the twisting of the key. But her time in the safe space was cut short all too soon by her father's voice cutting through the calm, muffled, though still loud and annoying.

With a heavy sigh, Ella forced the door open with a strong kick and dragged herself from the dark depths. She didn't know the time, but outside her window, the sky was dark, with the sun long gone from the sky. Her dad called her name again, less muffled this time, so she poked her head out from her bedroom door and peeked down the hallway.

"You rang?" She called, spotting the tall man in the kitchen.

"I'm ordering dinner; what do you want?" He asked, flipping through the various local takeout menus scattered on the counter.

"Pizza."

He hummed in response and dug out a menu for a local pizza place, then another for a Chinese restaurant.

"Well, I'm feeling like Chinese. C'mere, we're flipping a coin." He said, looking up and gesturing for the girl to join him in the kitchen.

Ella rolled her eyes, but joined her dad in the kitchen, hand held out for a coin to flip. He dug through the pockets of his purple jeans and presented her with a quarter.

"Heads or tails?" She asked blandly.

"Heads."

With a practiced flick of her thumb, the coin flipped though the air and above the girl's head, one of her hands catching it and slapping it against the back of her other hand, hesitating before revealing it. The shiny profile of George Washington glinted back at her mockingly.

A grin split across Robbie's face and she scowled, shoving the coin into the pocket of her skirt with an irritated huff.

"This is mine, now," She muttered, moving to sit on the, now dry, stool by the island counter, "I want noodles."

"What kind?" Robbie asked, dialing the number printed on the takeout menu.

"Noodles."

Robbie rolled his eyes and held his cellphone to his ear, then reached for his blow-dryer he'd set in the kitchen and handed it to the girl, "Blow dry the chair for me, will you? I'm probably going to sleep there tonight. Too tired to set up my bed."

Ella wordlessly took the blow dryer and hopped down from the stool, fumbling with the cord while she walked towards the offending, wet chair. She ran her fingers over the faux fur, noting how disgustingly damp it was.

At least it wasn't soaking wet, making her job a lot easier. She plugged the blow-dryer into the wall and let the noise drown out her thoughts while she settled on the task at hand.

Back in the kitchen, Robbie rummaged through a box labeled 'kitchen' for their haphazardly packed utensils without actually putting in the effort to unpack the box. He was far too tired to even consider unpacking, sorting, and storing everything away -- maybe tomorrow.

Or the next day, it depended on how tired he would be.

With an annoyed sigh, Robbie sat on the floor behind the counter, pounding head cradled in his hands. It wasn't the rain or even the big move that exhausted him -- lately, he was just so _tired_. The weight in his chest was slowly suffocating him, dragging him down and rooting him in place, unable to move and barely able the breathe. He was thankful for the loud noise of the blow-dryer when his breathing grew rough and uneven, desperate with the faint edges of a panic attack .

But Ella was so _close_ ; he couldn't break down with his daughter just a few feet away -- what kind of father would that make him? She barely liked or respected him already, losing his mind would only complicate things further.

So he scrubbed his face with his hands, forcing a calming breath into his lungs and dragged himself off of the floor with the grace of a blind, newborn, amputee deer. Ella still faced the chair, undisturbed, not having noticed her father's miniature breakdown over the noise of the blow-dryer. Robbie was thankful for that; It was really best not to worry her.

    A soft noise interrupted his quickly spiraling thoughts -- so soft, was surprised he even heard it over the blow dryer. A few seconds later it came again and he identified it as a gentle knocking on the front door. With a scowl, the man stalked out of the kitchen and threw open the door to inspect whoever had the audacity to disturb them right after they had moved in.

    A short, pink entity greeted him and Robbie had to blink a few times before his mind registered it as a small girl. The sheer amount of pink had stumped him for a moment.

    Pink hair, pink dress, pinks tights. . .so _pink_. It kind of hurt his eyes.

    The girl froze at the door being opened so quickly, but quickly snapped back with a smile and an enthusiastic wave, "Hi!"

    "Uh. . .hello," Robbie responded awkwardly, eyebrow arched at the smiling pink girl, "who are you?"

    "Oh!" She gasped, "I'm Stephanie, your new neighbor from upstairs!"

    "Oh, really?" Robbie muttered, eyeing the girl suspiciously, before beginning to shut the door , "well, nice to meet you, blah blah blah, goodbye--"

"Wait!" The girl yelped, reaching out to stop him, "I made you something!"

She reached behind her, Robbie leaving the door open out of pure curiosity more than anything, and produced a round container. She placed it into the man's arms, opening the lid to reveal its orange and purple iced contents.

"Cake!" She announced proudly, grinning while waiting for a response from the stunned man.

...Maybe the little pink thing wasn't so bad, after all.


	2. Chapter 2

The rain didn't let up until Saturday, nearly two days later. By then, Stephanie was anxious to get out of the apartment and go outside, where the sun was shining and practically begging her to go out and play with her friends.

With her boombox tucked safely under her arm, she told her dad where she was going and skipped out of the apartment with a delighted spring in her step. She came close to the stairs and prepared to jump down the steps two at a time, but froze and backtracked when she saw something blocking her way.

A girl she didn't recognize sat silently in the middle of the stairwell, staring off into space and sitting almost completely still. Stephanie might have thought she was a large doll, if it weren't for the soft rise and fall of her chest along with her lazy blinking. She was ghostly pale and her black hair only served to emphasize that fact, with straight cut bangs and short pigtails at the base of her head. 

Stephanie hesitated before calling out to the girl from the top of the stairs, "Hello?"

The girl jolted, as if shaken awake from a dream and whirled around to stare up at Stephanie accusingly.

"Yes?" She asked, scowling without even meaning to, though Stephanie could tell she was just nervous. Her dad always said she had a talent for reading people, whatever that meant.

"Oh, um . . ." Stephanie hesitated, "I've never seen you around here, so I wanted to say hi! So...Hi!"

The girl was silent for a moment, scowl slipping off her face and being replaced with more or less a blank face with suspicious eyes. She eventually spoke quietly with a hint of suspicion, "Hi."

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Stephanie, I live here," Stephanie continued, "What about you?"

"I live here, too," The girl muttered, "I moved in two days ago, actually."

"Are you Robbie's daughter?" Stephanie asked. When the girl nodded, she couldn't help but smile, "I knew it! I've been wanting to meet you since I gave your dad the cake! What's your name?"

"Ella." She answered, moving to stand up on the stairs.

Even from a few steps down, Stephanie could tell that she was tall, back straight and proper while she stood. Stephanie couldn't help but notice the taller girls clothes; a purple dress with short sleeves and white polka dots dotting the fabric -- while absolutely cute, definitely not appropriate for playing outside on a hot summer day.

"Your dress is really cute." Stephanie complimented, in an attempt to keep the conversation going.

"Thanks," Ella responded, looking a little shocked at the compliment, a blush dusting her cheeks despite the furrow in her brow, "my dad made it for me."

"What?!" Stephanie gasped, moving to look at the dress at every angle she could without invading the girl's space, "I'm so jealous! I wish my dad could make dresses that cute!"

The blush didn't leave Ella's cheeks, but Ella looked away and wrinkled her nose in some form of distaste, "It's ok, I guess."

Stephanie wasn't sure what was going on in the girl's head, but decided it was her official goal in life to cheer her up and become her friend. Her reasoning being that you could never have too many friends and one more was just what she needed.

"You wanna come play with me? You can meet my friends, if you want." Stephanie suggested, putting on a calm, convincing smile, hoping the girl would agree.

Ella hesitated, going still while the gears turned in her head and she contemplated the offer.

"...Sure," She muttered uncertainty, "but if your friends are jerks, I'm leaving."

Stephanie grinned and took the girl's hand, gripping it tightly while she lead her down the stairs and around the apartment complex as quickly as she could manage. Her friends would be waiting at the park behind the building like they had planned over the phone earlier that morning. As the two girls walked, Stephanie could spot them in the distance playing a game of basketball in their usual spot.

"Hey guys!" She called, waving frantically and running faster, dragging Ella along with her.

Her small group of friends paused their game to all greet her simultaneously, rushing forward in a cluster of excitement. Nobody appeared to notice Ella, who had slowly been inching away from the group, until Trixie acknowledged her rather in her own special way.

"Hey! Who the heck are you?" Trixie questioned loudly, pointing at the girl and drawing everybody's attention to her in an instant.

Ella froze and Stephanie was absolutely sure she was one step from bolting, so the pink-haired girl quickly stepped closer to her and held her in place with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"This is Ella! She moved in the other day and I thought she might want to play with us." Stephanie explained with a bright smile, pushing said girl forward slightly.

Everybody was silent while they considered the new girl, looking more or less judgemental while they stared at her openly, making the tall girl fidget slightly. Stingy was the first to speak up, straightening and huffing with an air of superiority.

"As long as she doesn't play with my toys, we can be friends." He announced, as if his decision was final.

"You don't let  _ anyone _ play with your toys, Stingy." Trixie pointed out, rolling her eyes while still giving Ella a long, slightly judgemental stare.

"But you can play with mine if you want, Ella!" Ziggy chimed, looking excited by the thought of a new friend joining their group.

"We're in the middle of a game right now," Trixie added, finally dropping her own judgmental stare, "but you can watch with Pinky until we switch out."

Ella nodded wordlessly and shuffled away to sit on the low stone wall that bordered the basketball court. Stephanie joined her by the wall; but instead of sitting, she placed her pink boombox on the ground and pressed a few buttons before bouncy, upbeat music filtered through the speakers.

The pink-haired girl bounced to the music while she watched her friends continue their game of basketball. She sent a look over to Ella, who still hadn't said a word since they had left the apartment and simply sat on the wall quietly.

"Do you like to dance?" Stephanie asked curiously, effectively getting the girl's attention and getting her to speak.

"Yeah, actually," Ella answered with a nod, then gestured to the boom box, "not to this kind of music, though."

"Really, what kind do you like?" Stephanie asked, happy to have something in common with her new neighbor and possible friend.

"Ballet music, y'know, classical stuff." Ella answered, but it was followed by a frown tugging at her lips, "I haven't gotten to dance in awhile, actually. Not since we moved."

"That's really cool, Ella, you must be great," Stephanie smiled, "you should teach me some ballet sometime! We could have a dance party at my place!"

Ella smiled shyly, "Sure."

Soon after that, the basketball game came to an end and Stephanie was excited to join, though Ella decided to stay on the wall. Pixel joined her as well, showing of one of his gadgets while Ella watched with quiet interest. By the end of the second game, while everybody rested and took a water break, they had all gathered around Ella, asking questions in an attempt to get to know her.

"So, where did you move from?" Stephanie began curiously.

"Active City." Ella answered simply, not exactly comfortable with the excess attention, but not going so far as to not answer the genuine questions.

"Active City is so cool!" Pixel grinned, "It's got the best video game stores! Why would you want to move?"

"I didn't want  to," The girl snapped quickly, flushing angrily, "I don't know why we moved, we just did."

Stephanie could tell that Ella was lying, but kept her mouth shut about it, "With your dad? Maybe he got a new job! That's what me and my dad did when he got a new job last year!"

"What about your mom?" Ziggy asked, always a bit oblivious to sensitive topics, probably the most innocent and normal out the group. It wasn't his fault, though, he simply had a very normal and nurturing upbringing, leaving him innocent to some of the struggles his friends faced.

Ella was silent for a long time, as were the rest of the children, wondering if she would answer. Stephanie frowned and reached out to the girl, resting a gentle hand on her arm.

"It's ok, Ella," She said quietly, "I don't have a mom, either."

Her words were meant to be comforting, but they seemed to have the opposite effect. Ella bristled and scowled, shooting up from the wall and knocking away Stephanie's gentle hand.

"I'm going home." She snapped, refusing to look any of the other children in the eye.

"What, why?" Stephanie asked, wondering distantly what she had done wrong.

"I'm tired, it's too hot. Leave me alone." Ella muttered and stalked off before anybody could stop her, head bent low while she scrubbed at her eyes furiously. Stephanie wanted to run after her so badly, but knew deep down it wouldn't do any good; it might upset her even more.

"How could she be tired? She didn't even play with us!" Ziggy pointed out, hurt and confused by the girl's sudden departure.

Stephanie made a mental note to apologize later, for whatever she did to upset Ella.

\- - - - - - - - - -

After Stephanie left the apartment in a flurry of excitement and chatter late that morning, her dad wondered what he would do with the rest of his day after he finished up his morning exercises. He went over his options in his head while he cooled down, but mentally erased the list from his mind when he realized something.

Even after two days, he had yet to officially meet the new neighbors. All he knew was that the man was named Robbie and Stephanie found him kind of weird. But, of course, he had to meet the man for himself, instead of going off the opinion of his ten-year-old daughter.

Quickly changing out of his work out clothes, the man dressed in a simple t-shirt and pair of slim-fitting sweatpants, leaving the apartment after he looked suitable for a first impression. He jogged down the stairs and located the newly inhabited apartment, knocking quickly and bouncing on his heels while he waited. After a stretch of time he knocked again, slightly louder.

He peeked out into the parking lot and recognized Robbie's car from the other day, sitting silently in it's bluish-grey, beat up glory. So Robbie had to be home.

He had knocked a third time by the time door swung open, crashing from the inside and revealing the man he had seen briefly just the other day. His face was pulled into a deep, deep scowl, highlighted by his disheveled hair and dark bags beneath his eyes.

"What do you want?" He growled out through gritted teeth, voice deep and gravely, slightly enticing despite the fact he had clearly just woken up and was not happy about it in the slightest.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but we haven't met yet," The shorter man smiled in greeting," I'm Sportacus, your new neighbor. You met my daughter Stephanie the other day, I believe."

"The pink one?" Robbie questioned, eyebrow arched and looking overall unimpressed.

A laugh bubbled from Sportacus' throat, "Yeah, that's Stephanie, alright. She loves pink."

Robbie huffed out a bit of air that might have been some form of a laugh. He was silent for a moment after, trying to subtly look Sportacus up and down, though he failed in his attempt. He must have realized his attempt at subtlety had failed because he straightened quickly and coughed into his fist awkwardly, slightly pink in the cheeks.

"Did you want something?" Robbie asked, voice more clear that time around.

"I just wanted to introduce myself," Sportacus offered, "maybe talk and get to know each other; I'm always happy to make new friends."

"And what if I decided to slam the door in your face?" Robbie grumbled.

Another laughed found it's way through Sportacus' throat; the man was certainly amusing in an odd, pleasant way.

"I'd be upset, of course, but I'd try again tomorrow." Sportacus answered honestly, smiling lightly up at the grumbling man.

"So no point in asking you to go away?"

"No, I don't think so."

Robbie sighed dramatically, eyes rolling to the ceiling, but stepped back to allow Sportacus into his apartment, nonetheless. The shorter man gratefully passed through the front door, looking around curiously, but not finding much of interest. Except for the familiar orange chair, the apartment was still painfully barren.

"Excuse me while I make myself decent, you kind of woke me up." Robbie spoke up, voice sharp and accusing.

"But it's nearly noon!" Sportacus laughed.

"Exactly, far too early." The tall man waved off, stalking down the hallway to his bedroom.

Sportacus was then left alone in the living room, amused and bewildered by his new neighbor. While Robbie was off getting dressed, he took the opportunity to investigate the fuzzy orange chair that had failed to leave his mind the past few days. 

He ran a tentative hand through the faux fur, pleasantly surprised by its softness and comforting texture. It might have looked horribly obscene and out of place, but Sportacus couldn't deny how much he secretly wanted to curl up in chair and relax.

When he managed to pull himself away from the chair, Sportacus took the chance to look around the rest of the apartment. Everything was depressingly barren, only a select few things unpacked while other boxes remained packed and sealed tightly with tape. Sportacus frowned at how lonely the apartment was, but didn't have time to dwell on the negative feelings as Robbie emerged from his room.

"Nosy, aren't you, Sportaflop?" Robbie grumbled tiredly, looking far more put together than Sportacus had first seen him. While his out fit was very put together: a black dress shirt, striped vest, and matching purple jeans, it certainly wasn't appropriate for the summer weather.

"Sportaflop?" Sportacus asked, laughing at the odd nickname.

Robbie hummed, grabbing a single unpacked mug from the counter, "Yup, is that a problem, Sportakook?"

While his teasing was blatantly obvious, Robbie seemed to be actually asking instead of vaguely threatening him, pausing to look up at the man for an answer.

"It's no problem, I've always wanted a nickname." Sportacus answered, full of optimistic energy, as usual.

Robbie nodded wordlessly in acknowledgment and continued to make his coffee. Sportacus stood silently, watching while the man poured an alarming amount of sugar and creamer into the steaming mug. He knew better than to judge a person he had just met, but that didn't stop him from feeling sick at the mere thought of that much sugar enerting one's body. It just wasn't healthy.

"So, Sportaflop," Robbie began after taking a long drink from his mug, "why are you here?"

 

Confused, Sportacus repeated what he had said earlier, "Just like I said, I wanted to meet you! We are neighbors, after all!"

"Like that actually means anything," Robbie muttered under his breath, though it wasn't lost to Sportacus, "be honest, Sportaloon, you want something from me. That's the only explanation for you showing up like this."

"I don't  _ want _ anything, Robbie," Sportacus argued quietly, stepping closer to the taller man out of instinct, "except your friendship, possibly."

Robbie gave out a bark of sarcastic laughter, "You don't know this about me yet, but I might as well tell you, I'm not exactly the kind of person people want to be 'friends' with." 

Sportacus certainly wasn't going to give up simply due to his new neighbor's stubbornness, so he just put on another smile and shrugged off Robbie's insistence, "I guess I'll figure that out for myself, Mister..."

The man silently realized he hadn't asked for his new neighbor's last name, eyes asking the question that his mouth didn't.

Robbie rolled his eyes dramatically, but answered nonetheless, "Glæpur, Robbie Glæpur"

"Ah, is that Icelandic?" Sportacus asked, interest piqued with the familiar pronunciation.

"Yes," Robbie hesitated, "my father came from Iceland. I'll assume that's where that accent of yours comes from."

"Yes! Sportacus Íþrótta, I actually came to America when I was fourteen," Sportacus explained excitedly. It was rare to find someone of similar descent as him, let alone having them move a few doors down from him, "I only became fluent in English when I was sixteen, though. I still have trouble sometimes, if I'm being completely honest."

Robbie nodded in understanding, regarding the shorter man with his full attention, "What about Pinky? Wouldn't she have some accent with a dad like you, or did she learn from her mom or something?"

Sportacus hesitated at the unexpected question. Of course, he had expected it to be brought up eventually, but he hadn't actually thought it would be so soon, leaving him grossly unprepared to touch upon the topic. He momentarily considered lying, but quickly thought better of it; he'd never lie about something so sensitive.

"Well, actually," He hesitated, looking away from Robbie for a brief, nervous moment, "I'm not actually Stephanie's real--”

 

He was cut off suddenly by the sound of the front door slamming open and crashing against the wall, the noise startling both men and cutting off the conversation abruptly. Ella stomped into the apartment, tears streaming down her cheeks. She slammed the door closed with another loud sound and ran towards her room without a word or glance at the two men in the kitchen.

"Ella?" Robbie shouted after her, brow creased deeply with concern, "What happened? Are you alright?"

"Leave me  _ alone _ !" Came the shrill shout from down the hallway, followed by her bedroom door slamming shut with, yet again, another loud noise.

Sighing, Robbie slumped forward onto the counter, face resting against his hands whilst he furiously rubbed his temples, "It's too early for this."

"Shouldn't you go check on her?" Sportacus asked quietly, unsure of how to react after seeing Robbie's daughter in such a state.

"It won't help, when she's like this she prefers to be alone," Robbie explained dryly, frown pressed deep into his lips, "she hates my guts."

"Oh, Robbie, that's not true--" Sportacus frowned sadly, his attempt at comfort was cut off before it even began.

"No offense, Sporta-Whatever," Robbie snapped, each word ground out with a deep harshness, "but you don't know a damn thing about me or about my family, so just leave it."

Sportacus faltered uncomfortably, put off by the man's defensive aggression and saddened by it as well, realizing he had really overstepped a boundary he hadn't known was there to begin with. His features softened with guilt and he frowned apologetically at Robbie.

"You're right, Robbie," He said softly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed."

Robbie's eyes widened and he straightened up suddenly, pointing a long finger into the shorter man's face, almost touching his nose, "Oh no, no, no -- you stop that right now!"

He scrunched his face with confusion, eyes flicking back and forth between the accusing finger and the man pointing at him, "Stop what?"

"That  _ face _ , you look like a kicked puppy -- it's horrible!" Robbie said, sounding simultaneously frustrated and offended.

"Sorry." Sportacus apologized again, this time chuckling at his quirky neighbor.

"Stop apologizing!" Robbie huffed, "If anybody is going to apologize here, it's going to be me. You were just trying to be a good, helpful neighbor who cares and blah, blah, blah. It's not your fault my family situation is on the screwy side." 

Sportacus nodded in understand, "It's alright, Robbie, I understand, It was rude of me to assume. Every parent is different."

"You got that right." Robbie grumbled under his breath.

With that, Sportacus decided it was time for him to leave, knowing that Robbie would need to sort out whatever happened to his daughter without a stranger lurking around his home. He gave his new neighbor a quick goodbye before leaving him alone in his own barren kitchen.

It certainly wouldn't be the last time they spoke, though. He'd make sure of it.


	3. Chapter 3

Ella refused to come out of her room for lunch; and refused to come out again after Robbie tried to coax her out an hour later. Eventually, after three futile attempts, he have up and decided to let her come out on her own time, like she usually did.

After a little over three hours, though, the bedroom creaked open quietly the girl shuffling into the kitchen silently for a glass of water. Robbie looked up from the work order forms he had been working on and took in her appearance; her eyes were red and puffy and her hair was a total mess, meaning she'd probably cried herself to sleep. He was familiar with the look, but it still depressed him to see it mirrored onto his own daughter.

Instead of pointing it out, he ignored it for his daughter's sake: she'd only deny it if he were to point it out, or get angry. Emotional situations tended to be a bit of a dangerous coin flip with the girl.

"Three hours," He called to her, "not your personal best, but I'm sure you'll break your record eventually."

Ella responded with a loud raspberry blown in her dad's direction. She filled her cup with water and downed it quickly while she clambered onto one of the counter stools.

"Want to tell me what happened?" Robbie asked, returning to his work and adjusting his reading glasses.

"No," Ella grumbled, but continued anyway, "that stupid pink girl wanted me to play with her stupid friends. Then they all started asking stupid questions."

"Sounds stupid." Robbie muttered.

"It was!" Ella confirmed loudly, slamming her cup down for emphasis, "one of them asked about mom."

That got Robbie's attention, heading snapping up, "And?"

Ella just shrugged and stared intently into her empty cup, lip quivering while she attempted to stop the new onslaught of anger and bitter tears. Robbie dropped the topic quickly and removed himself from his chair and, without a word, he wrapped the girl into a gentle hug and let her bury her face into his shoulder.

"People are stupid." She muttered, voice muffled by her dad's dress shirt.

"You've got that right, kid." Robbie agreed, resting a hand on her head and absent-mindedly stroking her tangled hair.

When Ella eventually pulled away, Robbie left the room and returned with a brush and two ribbon-adorned hair ties. He sat on the stool beside the girl and began to brush through the girl's tangled hair, receiving only a few protests until the tangles gave way against the brushes bristles. They were silent while Robbie twisted her hair into her usual pigtails until Ella decided to break the silence.

"Who was that guy with the weird mustache?" Ella asked, remembering the mysterious man that had inhabited their kitchen earlier when she had stormed in.

"The 'stupid' pink girl's dad." Robbie explained, quoting the girl's complaints from earlier.

Ella froze, mortified, "Oh no."

She buried her face into her hands and groaned dramatically, "He's gonna tell Stephanie!"

"Why would he do that?" Robbie asked, not entirely understanding her logic.

"Because it was so embarrassing! She'll laugh at me and tell her friends and then they'll laugh at me!" She explained loudly in a distressed tone, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "She won't want to be my friend!"

Robbie wasn't sure how to respond to his daughter's ravings, mostly out of shock. The insecurities she voiced sounded awfully familiar, like a simplified version of his own anxieties. She was becoming another version of his younger self -- lonely and horribly insecure.

Not good, not good at all.

He was ready to say something, anything, to put his daughter;s fears to rest, but was interrupted by a familiar, quiet knock at the door.

"Who is it?" He called out sharply, annoyed by the interruption.

"It's Stephanie! Is Ella home?" A soft voice came from the other side of the front door.

Ella frantically shook her head and gestured desperately for him not to say anything. 

Robbie ignored her, of course.

"Door's open, Pinky." Robbie yelled back, shrugging at Ella's look of absolute betrayal.

The door opened slowly, Stephanie peeking inside before walking into the apartment hesitantly. Robbie decided that it was the perfect moment to go hide away in his bedroom and continue his work, leaving the two girls alone.

"Hey, Ella." Stephanie greeted softly after Robbie's door had shut, the guilty look on her face almost unbearable to look at.

"Hey." Ella replied, keeping her eyes stubbornly glued to the countertop, not daring to look up at the pink-haired girl.

I'm really really sorry," Stephanie continued, sounding as genuine as a person could be," I didn't mean to upset you! I should have just kept my big mouth shut!"

Ella finally looked up and gaped at the pink-haired girl, who looked on the verge of tears with her trembling lip and watering eyes.

"Why are you apologizing?" Ella asked, hopping down from the stool to stand closer to the girl, "you didn't do anything."

"B-but--" Stephanie began, but was cut off by Ella pressing a hand to her mouth, effectively forcing er to be quiet.

"Shut up for a second," Ella commanded softly, taking her hand away when she was sure Stephanie would stay quiet, "I got upset over something stupid -- something I really don't want to talk about. So don't apologize, please, it just makes me feel bad."

Stephanie was quiet for a moment, rubbing at her eyes to get rid of the tears. Then she smiled hesitantly and the traces of sadness disappeared in an instant. Ella quietly wished she could bounce back as she could.

"So, do you still want to be friends?" Stephanie asked with a shy smile.

"Obviously." Ella muttered, looking away nervously.

Next thing she knew, Stephanie had pounced on her and wrapped Ella in a hug, grip surprisingly strong for how much shorter she was compared to herself. Ella almost pushed her away, tensing in her hold, but quickly squashed the idea and forced herself to relax into the hug and return it tentatively.

"I've gotta go home," Stephanie said after she had pulled away, "but maybe we can play again tomorrow! This time my friends will be nice, I promise."

The last thing Ella wanted to do was turn the girl now, so she nodded in agreement while she waved the girl put of the apartment.

"That went well." Robbie commented from the hallway, where he had ended up watching the heartfelt exchange take place, "Still think Pinky is stupid?"

"Shut up." Ella grumbled, choosing to ignore her father in favor of raiding the fridge.

Robbie sighed to himself while he silently watched the girl. They had shared a quiet moment of understanding earlier, but it seemed that they were back to where they had been originally; with Robbie scared and uncertain while Ella remained cold and distant.

But the pink girl had broken down a wall in Ella's composure, made her feel something after months of blankness. Something he hadn't managed to do in the leven years of Ella's life.

Not that he cared about the pink girl. Or her stupid, handsome, muscular dad.

Not one bit.

 

Barely even a day later, in the local tree house shared by the children, a meeting took place in the early afternoon. Stephanie had gathered all of her friends together and stood before them in an authoritative stance.

"Alright, guys," Stephanie announced powerfully, earning each child's individual attention. "I've gathered you here to discuss something very important."

"Video games?" Pixel chimed hopefully.

"Money?" Stingy added.

"Candy?" Ziggy asked cheerfully, brandishing his lollipop as emphasis.

"Vandalism?" Trixie asked, causing the other four children to stare at her," What?"

Stephanie sighed and shook her head, "No, no, and definitely no, Trixie, we talked about that. I wanted to talk about something way more important than all of that stuff."

"What could be more important than candy?" Ziggy asked, slightly scandalized, "or Pixel's video games? You played his new one, that's pretty important!"

Stephanie couldn't help but laugh, "It is pretty fun, but I wanted to talk about Ella!"

Trixie's face scrunched up immediately, "That weird girl? Why would she be important, Pinky?"

This made Stephanie frown as a quick flash of anger and disappointment flashed through her. Trixie may have been known to be blunt and sometimes, on occasion, downright rude, but it was rare of her to outright dismiss someone she had just met without knowing a single thing about them. Stephanie knew her best friend was better than that.

"That's not very nice, Trixie," Stephanie reprimanded, crossing her arms and looking down at her friend, "Ella is just nervous and doesn't know how to act around new people, so we have to try our very best to make her feel welcome!"

"Weren't we doing that yesterday?" Pixel pointed out.

"Well, yeah," Stephanie agreed, "but we have to try harder! We can't just give up because it didn't work the first time!"

"But I thought she didn't like us!" Ziggy pointed out with a frown, "She ran away and she didn't come back! Even Trixie comes back after awhile!"

"Hey!" Trixie snapped in offense, reaching over and pinching Ziggy's cheek between her fingers.

"Ow!"

"She was just scared," Stephanie explained, pointedly ignoring Trixie, yet unable to hide her amused smile, "My dad told me that some people can be scared of meeting new people!"

"I'm not scary!" Ziggy gasped, "I'm absolutely adorable!"

Stephanie giggled and stooped down to ruffle the blonde boy's hair, "I know, Ziggy. But she was just scared about meeting new friends. Maybe talking about certain things, too. It's normal."

"So how do we make Ella like us? Pixel asked, as he began to fidget with his hi-tech watch, "by my calculations, it seems almost impossible."

"That's quitter talk, Pixel!" Stephanie, quickly switching back to her authoritative voice, "Nothing is impossible! We just have to try harder!"

"So what can we do?" Stingy asked.

Stephanie smiled and gestured for the other children to huddle in a tight circle.

"I think I have a plan." She whispered excitedly.

 

Ella had desperately hoped Stephanie had meant it when she said they could play the next day. She'd rather die than admit it, but she was secretly excited by the thought of making new friends. In the past, she had always had trouble conveying what she felt; either she locked away her emotions or translated it into muted anger.

As a result, she hadn't had many friends before they moved. Actually, she'd never had any friends that she could recall, not anybody who truly mattered, anyway. Maybe one friend, if she considered the purple ballerina inside of her treasured music box. She was a good friend by normal standards -- always willing to listen and never saying bad things.

The girl sat on her bed most of the morning, winding the music box over and over and watching the ballerina spin and spin on her tiny stage. She sighed heavily, not sure what she expected from the tiny, plastic, figure. Perhaps she hoped that the ballerina could somehow magically make her feel at ease in the new apartment.

The room still felt terribly barren, many boxes still untouched, despite already being moved in nearly four days already. The only familiar thing seemed to be her bed - the white bedframe finally standing and adorned with her purple bedsheets and matching pillows.

But Ella was too busy thinking about Stephanie to be bothered by the empty, lifeless walls. It was a constant back and forth of excitement and fear, jumping from elation to stifling anxiety. 

There was the excitement at the thought of a new friend, somebody who actually liked her and wanted to talk to her. Then the fear over the inevitable rejection she would be faced with. For the time being, Stephanie and her friends might like her, but they would grow sick of her quickly and want her gone. Ella knew the feeling very well.

But she was familiar with rejection, so maybe it wouldn't hurt so badly if it happened again. 

Her chest had begun to grow tight with familiar tension, so Ella forced herself to take a deep, calming breath that didn't do much in the way of settling her nerves.

Friends shouldn't have been so complicated. She was young, so she should have been able to make friends easily, like a normal kid. But she wasn't a normal kid, that's not how things were with her -- simple things turning twisted and complex.

Like friends.

And mothers.

As fast as the thought came, Ella slapped down the lid of the music box and flinched. She wasn't going to think about it, she refused. It hurt too much and she was already hurting enough.

To distract herself, she found herself digging through one of the large, packed boxes with quiet determination. She pushed aside junk she barely even remembered owning before she found what she had been looking for; a CD.

With trembling fingers, she opened the clear, plastic casing and stared at the purple, looping words painted across the silver disc.

'For Ella'

The purple heart sketched beside them, ironically, made her own heart hurt. It was funny in the most painful of ways.

 

Choosing the ignore the bad feelings creeping upon her, she placed the CD inside of her boombox and clicked the play button. The first few notes of violin filtered through the speakers and washed over her with their familiarity. It was simple, but it wasn't the composition of music that drew her in and pulled at her heartstrings, but the meaning behind both the CD and its music.

The music that was chosen just for her.

Ella tentatively rose to her feet and slowly shifted into first position. Though she had quit her lessons many months ago, moving to the music felt natural, as if she had never stopped in the first place.

She didn't dance the precise and practiced dances she had learned, instead moving how she felt - slow, precise, and pointed movements that followed the music as it sped up in rhythm and beat. She was prepared to throw herself into her movements as the crescendo neared - let go and let the music take control and let her forget--

Until the wrapping of knuckles on her bedroom door interrupted her dancing. She quickly scrambled to the floor to shut off the boombox, leaving the room deadly silent.

"Ella?" Robbie's voice came through the door, "I'm going to the store, do you want to come with me?"

Ella thought about Stephanie and her promise, then quickly responded, "No."

"Alright," Robbie sighed dramatically,"but if I get something you don't like, I will not be hearing any complaints."

He hesitated for a moment outside of her door. She knew because of the shadow of his feet showing from beneath the wood. But then she could see the feet move, heard the sound of his car keys, then slight crack of the front door opening.

Though, for a moment, the door did not shut.

"Pinky's waiting for you outside, by the way!" Came her dad's loud voice, before the front door slammed shut.


	4. Chapter 4

The world seemed to have decided to be especially cruel to him that morning. 

Or afternoon, technically. Considering it was two in the afternoon and he'd only gotten out of bed around noon.

Who even cared what time it was? All that mattered was that Robbie's car wouldn't start, no matter how hard he turned the key or hit the dash in frustration. The engine would roll and roll with strangled effort, but eventually give up and remain silent and dead.

With a frustrated groan, Robbie slammed the car door open and extracted himself from inside to investigate the problem under the hood.

Or he would have, if somebody hadn't called his name.

"Robbie!" called the bright, familiar accented voice from behind him.

Sportacus was probably the last person he wanted to deal with in that moment. With his stupid optimism, do-good attitude, and ridiculous muscles. Not that Robbie had payed special attention to the man's muscles, they were just really hard to ignore. How was it possible for somebody to be so toned, yet so slim at the same time?

Shaking away his rambling thoughts, Robbie sighed and turned around to face the Icelandic man, who looked like he had just returned from running, or something else gross and exercise related if the light sheen of sweat on his brow was anything to go by. Robbie nervously pulled at the collar of his dress shirt, suddenly realizing how hot he was beneath the heat of the summer sun.

"Car trouble?" Sportacus asked, peering at the old car curiously.

"It would appear so," Robbie grumbled, artfully avoiding eye contact with the man standing before him, "but I've got it all handled, probably a dead battery or something. Nothing I can't fix--"

"I could give you a ride!" Sportacus said quickly with a wide, hopeful smile.

"You don't even know where I'm going." Robbie replied flatly.

"Grocery store?" Sportacus asked, pointing to the list titled 'Food n Shit' protruding from his vest pocket, "It wouldn't be any trouble, Robbie. I need to pick up a few things myself!"

Robbie simply stared at the man for a long moment, boggled by his kindness and insistence to help. Such kindness was foreign to him and he was uncertain as to who was the weird one of the situation. He opted to blame Sportacus -- he was the weird one.

"You are absolutely ridiculous," Robbie finally said, just barely noticing to slight waver of the shorter man's smile, then quickly continued, "but, fine, I give."

The short man's smile somehow managed to get bigger, making Robbie concerned that his face might have split in two. A smile that large couldn't be good for someone's face.

"That's great!" Sportacus cheered excitedly, "let me go get changed and grab my keys -- wait here!"

Then he was off running toward the apartment complex, launching himself over the stairs railing and bounding up the stairs two at a time, with the speed and familiarity of an excitable alley cat.

"Showoff." Robbie grumbled to himself, crossing his arms over his chest with an annoyed huff.

Sportacus had a really nice car. A really 

nice care, in fact.

It wasn't a sports car by any means, which would have been fitting, but compared to Robbie's disaster of a clunker it might as well have been one. The outside was a sleek, shining navy blue, looking brand new despite Sportacus insisting he'd had it for years. Inside, it was clean and free of the clutter that dominated Robbie's car usually. He refused to admit his admiration of the car out loud, but that didn't stop him from absentmindedly stroking the smooth leather seats out of pure fascination.

"I could've driven myself, y'know," Robbie argued stubbornly, "it was an easy fix. Nothing I haven't done before."

"It's really no trouble, Robbie," Sportacus insisted, looking away from the road for a split second to smile at the other man, "it's so hot out, anyway, I doubt you would want to be out in the parking lot all day!"

Well, he had a point. Easy fix or not, Robbie really didn't want to be stuck outside under the assaulting summer sun when he could be inside with the relief of air conditioning. It was far too much work, he decided, so he would put it off until later. Whenever that might have been.

The two men were silent for a few moments longer while Sportacus navigated through traffic. Eventually, though, Sportacus spoke up when the silence had dragged on long enough for his taste.

"How is Ella?" He asked, voice soft and tone gentle as he stole a quick glance at Robbie.

Robbie froze initially, as he hadn't expected the question, but realized that, of course, Sportacus would be concerned, considering the girl had stormed into the apartment in a mess of tears and anger.

"She's fine, I think," Robbie answered, uncertainly, "She does that a lot, it's nothing to get concerned over. I'm not sure what happened to get her so upset, but your kid came by and apologized, so she's probably alright." 

"Stephanie did seem a little distracted at dinner," Sportacus commented, "I guess she and her friends might've said something that upset Ella."

"Ella's just having a hard time, the move has been pretty rough on her." Robbie sighed heavily, though he knew there was much more to the issue than that. But he'd rather jump out of the moving car than open that can of worms at that moment. Especially to the nosy, muscled jumping bean driving him.

"What about you, Robbie?"

"What about me, what?" Robbie shot back, confused.

"How has the move been on you?" Sportacus clarified in a soft, caring tone that made Robbie want to rip out his own eardrums, then quickly added, "if you don't mind me asking, that is."

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Robbie snapped, "It's not like I've never moved before. I'm a grown man, I'm fine."

Maybe he was speaking a little too fast and acting a little bit too stand-off-ish, but it wasn't his fault -- Sportacus was being nosy and Robbie wasn't exactly in the mood. The man was kind enough to give his sorry self a ride, though, so Robbie had enough sense to give an answer to his prying questions. Even if his answer was pretty much useless.

"If you say so, Robbie." Sportacus relented, growing quiet again as he pulled his car into an empty parking space.

Robbie knew deep down that it wouldn't be the last of Sportacus' prying.

The two men shopping together was an interesting experience, to say the very least.

The two of them had very different shopping lists, leaving Robbie frustrated and Sportacus perplexed and maybe a bit concerned over Robbie's tastes. Especially when it came to the snack aisle.

Sportacus usually skipped the aisle completely, but found himself waiting a bit anxiously while Robbie filled his cart with various junkfoods and sugary snacks. He usually prided himself on being non-judgmental and respectful of people's tastes, but Sportacus could only just barely stop himself on lecturing Robbie on the sheer amount of fats and sugars in each package he grabbed.

Though, the same could be said for Sportacus and the produce section.

"How many apples do you need?" Robbie asked incredulously as he watched Sportacus grab several large bags of various types of apples.

"Well, Stephanie and I both eat a few apples a day," Sportacus explained, "so this is pretty average."

After that, Robbie simply watched with a mixture of disbelief and distaste while Sportacus continued to fill his basket with more fruits and vegetables. But, not only did they silently judge each other over their shopping lists, they actually held a decent conversation while they shopped.

"So, Robbie," Sportacus began, attempting to start a conversation while they walked through the aisles, "What do you do for a living?"

"A little bit of everything," Robbie answered while he stared down the selection of potato chips, "I think most people would call it self-employed. I repair computers, make clothes -- anything that will make me money, I guess."

"Wow, Robbie, you're very talented!" Sportacus smiled, "I'm a personal trainer at the local gym, kind of boring compared to you."

Robbie scoffed and rolled his eyes at that, looking at the man with an unimpressed scowl, "You'd be the first to think that. Don't waste your time comparing yourself to me, unless you're looking to boost your ego."

Sportacus frowned and looked like he wanted to say something, but Robbie turned away and pushed his cart down the aisle and away from him without another word. The shorter man followed after, but seemed at a loss for words and simply kept pace beside the taller man.

"I guess you're right, Robbie." Sportacus said after a long period of silence.

"I am? That's a first." Robbie snickered.

"I guess I shouldn't compare myself to you," Sportacus said with a small shrug, "we're very different people. Comparing ourselves would be pretty pointless and frustrating."

"So you've got some smarts under all of that muscle," Robbie chuckled, "I could've told you that. No wonder Pinky is such a nice kid -- she's got to listen to your inspirational crap all day!"

"You think Stephanie is nice?" Sportacus smiled, ignoring every other aspect of the sentence.

"I didn't say that."

Ella frantically pulled on her shoes and practically sprinted towards the front door, throwing it open and skidding to a stop. Like her dad had said, Stephanie waited on the doormat, al bright, happy energy topped with a gentle smile.

The only thing that was off, though, was the lack of pink.

Of course, her hair remained it's bright bubblegum hue that practically defined the girl, but the rest of her usual pink outfit had been replaced with a purple dress and various matching accessories. 

"You're really..." Ella hesitated, at a loss for words, "...purple."

"Yup!" Stephanie said, "you seem to like purple, so I wore all the purple I could find!"

"Thats...really nice of you," Ella said quietly. The girl was too sweet for her own good and it was really throwing Ella off, "you didn't have to do that."

Stephanie smiled and shook her head," I wanted to! Now, come on, we're going to play in the treehouse!"

She let Ella shut the door behind her before leading the way to the treehouse, walking quickly and with a purpose. Ella almost had a hard time keeping up, but managed to make up for her slower pace with her much longer legs and longer stride. The pink-haired girl seemed both excited and anxious as she quickly led the way, making Ella wonder if the girl had anything planned beside what she had already told her. She knew better than to ask, though. 

Questions usually only caused trouble, in Ella's experience.

Once they reached the treehouse, Stephanie continued to lead, climbing up the wooden steps hammered into the tree, urging Ella to follow behind. Before entering the house, Stephanie stepped on the hatch-door with what Ella could only interpret as a secret code. A series of quick, precise knocks followed by the same pattern repeated from the inside of the house, then the opening of the small hatch from the bottom.

Stephanie pulled herself inside and steadied herself before reaching down for Ella, who clambered inside far less gracefully than the other girl. When the hatch door shut behind her, Ella noticed it was very dark inside, despite having seen a large window on the outside of the house.

"It's kind of dark, don't you think?" She commented uncertainty.

"One second." Stephanie responded distractedly, fumbling and whispering to her other friends that Ella couldn't see.

Then, very suddenly, light flooded inside the room in a bright flash that blinded Ella momentarily. She covered her eyes and tried to blink away the white that still remained plastered to her eyes.

When she pulled her hands away, though, she wasn't sure if she was seeing correctly.

Everything was...purple.

Balloons, streamers, confetti, and any other decoration she could imagine - each a different shade of purple. Even the other children were adorned in purple, except the girl with pigtails, whose name Ella couldn't seem to remember.

"Trixie!" Stephanie gasped, pouting at the lack of purple, "I thought you said you had purple things!"

Trixie huffed and rolled her eyes, pointing to her hair, where three purple hair ties held her pigtails in place.

"I guess that counts." Stephanie sighed, then turned to Ella with an expectant smile, "So? What do you think?"

"I..." Ella hesitated, at a loss for words, as she often was, "I don't understand."

"Well," Ziggy chimed, taking his grape lollipop out of is mouth for a moment, "we wanted to make you feel better, since you were so upset the other day! Parties always make me feel better!"

The children were silent as they watched the girl expectantly, waiting for her reaction.

What they didn't expect was for Ella to start laughing.

It started off with a small giggle that the tall girl attempted to stifle with her hand, but soon became full-bodied laughter. Stephanie furrowed her brow in confusion, sharing a glance with her equally confused friends.

When Ella's laughter died down, she took deep breaths and wiped at the tears that had formed in her eyes.

"Um.." Stingy mumbled uncertainty, "what's so funny?

"Yeah, what's so funny?" Trixie repeated, tone more defensive.

"It's just so -- so," Ella tried to explain, "cheesy! I get upset and you guys throw me a party! That's hilarious!"

"She has a point," Pixel pointed out, grin spreading to him as well, "it doesn't make any logical sense."

"Don't get me wrong, it's really nice," Ella said quickly, "way too nice, honestly, but you've got to admit it's funny!"

"I guess it is kinda funny." Ziggy admitted, giggling.

Stephanie finally smiled, not really understanding Ella's logic, but happy her plan had worked out, even if it wasn't exactly how she had planned. Ella had cheered up and that much was evident by the small smile that still stuck to her, even after she had stopped laughing.

"I haven't laughed like that in a long time, you guys must be magic." Ella said, rubbing her sore cheeks.

"Yeah, we're wizards!" Ziggy cheered, brandishing his lollipop like a wand.

"Not me," Trixie declared dramatically, "I'm a scary witch! I curse people with laughing diseases!"

As if on cue, Stephanie suddenly burst into loud laughter, doubling over and holding her stomach.

"Oh no!" She cried in-between giggles, "the witch cursed me! I can't stop laughing!"

Everybody joined Stephanie, bursting into loud laughter, all while Trixie cackled evilly over them. While Ella didn't join in the game, she did attempt to stifle her own giggling while watching her new friends.

Wait -- new friends...

That sounded nice.


	5. Chapter 5

"This is so unnecessary."  
  
"I know, but I wanted to help!"  
  
"Doesn't mean you should."  
  
"But I want to!"  
  
Robbie scoffed and rolled his eyes, staring at Sportacus in annoyed disbelief as he lifted two arm-fulls of groceries as if they weighed nothing to him. The shorter man had insisted on carrying Robbie's groceries, saying it was no trouble at all. All the while with that stupid, cheery smile and do-good attitude.  
  
It was absolutely aggravating.  
  
Robbie muttered darkly to himself while he opened his apartment door and allowed Sportacus to walk inside, at the very least remembering his manners, even if he was annoyed beyond belief at that very moment. Sportacus dropped the groceries onto the countertop, shifting his own bags so their weight was evenly distributed in both of his hands.  
  
"Absolutely unnecessary," Robbie scoffed dryly after he shut the front door behind him, "but thanks, I guess."  
  
"It was no trouble," Sportacus grinned, "I could help you put them away if you want--"  
  
"Nope," Robbie interrupted, holding up a hand to silence to other man, "anymore help from you and I will drag you out of here by your dumb mustache."  
  
Sportacus chuckled and held his hands up in surrender, letting Robbie stalk past him into the kitchen. He began to unbag the groceries silently, but looked up at Sportacus after a long moment of silence, eyebrow raised.  
  
"You can go home now." He stated simply, gesturing to the door.  
  
"I thought you might like the company." Sportacus offered with a quick shrug, leaving the offer up in the air.  
  
Robbie frowned and stared the shorter man down, trying in vain to figure him out. He had never met someone like the man before and found his never-ending optimism unnerving. It all felt like a cruel trick, like any moment he would drop the act and laugh in Robbie's face.  
  
It wasn't like it hadn't happened before.  
  
Instead of voicing those thoughts, though, Robbie instead sighed and rolled his eyes with an added exaggerated groan.  
  
"I don't care, do whatever you want," Robbie said, "but you might want to take your health crap home before you decide to grace me with your company."  
  
He must have taken that as an invitation, because Sportacus nodded with a smile and left apartment in a rush, saying that he would be back shortly. The man adjusted his groceries in his arms while he jogged up the stairs leading to his own apartment, letting his knees jump higher than necessary and relishing in the satisfying burn that came with it.  
  
He didn't expect anyone to be home, Stephanie having had told him that she would be outside playing with her friends for awhile, right before Sportacus left for his daily run. So when he opened the front door to their apartment, he was surprised to find his daughter and Ella in the living room, dancing to music that filtered from Stephanie's cherished boombox.  
  
The girls looked up when the door opened and while Stephanie simply smiled and greeted her dad, Ella froze up suddenly, looking nervous, almost as if she had done something wrong. That worried Sportacus slightly, making him wonder if the poor girl had an unspoken anxiety disorder, like Pixel did. Or maybe she was just embarrassed that he had seen her crying the other day. Either way, Sportacus didn't want her to feel awkward or nervous around him.  
  
"Hi, Ella." Sportacus greeted gently with a smile, hoping to ease the girls nervousness while he spread the groceries onto the kitchen counter. Stephanie ran forward and excitedly plucked two red apples from one of the bags, tossing one to the older girl before biting into hers.  
  
"Uh, hey, Mister...uh..." Ella responded hesitantly, focusing on the shiny apple in her hand instead of who she was talking to.  
  
"It's alright, just call me Sportacus." He said, moving to quickly unbag his groceries so he could return to Robbie's apartment, "How did the party go, Stephanie?"  
  
"Oh, it was so much fun!" Stephanie grinned through as mouth full of fruit, "everybody dressed up in purple like I asked and we all played games! Ziggy even brought purple taffy!"  
  
"Well, I hope you didn't eat too much," Sportacus chuckled, "you know how hyper you get when you have too much sugar."  
  
"It's ok, Ziggy ate all of it, anyway." Stephanie shrugged.  
  
"In. one. bite." Ella added with a shudder.  
  
Sportacus laughed and finished putting away the last of the groceries and placing the paper bags off to the side to be recycled later.  
  
"Well, I promised Robbie I would keep him company, so have fun, you two." Sportacus announced before he prepared to leave again. He was nearly out the door when Ella stopped him.  
  
"Are you and my dad friends now, or something?" Ella asked with a curious frown tugging at her lips, "he's never had any friends."  
  
Sportacus paused, but didn't hesitate to reassure to shy girl, mostly happy that she was speaking to him directly, "Well, I certainly hope to change that. I would love to be your dad's friend."  
  
Instead of smiling like Sportacus expected, Ella snorted and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Good luck." She said with obvious distaste.  
  
He wasn't sure what he had expected, but it certainly wasn't that.  
  
Without anything more to say, Sportacus left his apartment, less cheerful than he had been the moment before. He let himself sigh after he shut the door, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Something about what Ella had said bothered him, making him think that he probably didn't understand her or Robbie at all.  
  
He was usually on top of things, but there he was, absolutely stuck.  
  
           - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
When Sportacus finally returned to Robbie's apartment after collecting himself, he found that Robbie had vacated the kitchen and was nowhere to be seen. Peeking his head down the small hallway, Sportacus noticed one of the doors was open and noises were coming from inside.  
  
When he found himself standing in the doorway of the room, he wasn't entirely certain what he was looking at. Like the living room and kitchen, it still remained horribly bare, filled with various boxes and naked furniture. Many of the boxes were open, though, and each seemed to be in a separate category of it's own.  
  
In one box, bright fabrics of all colors and patterns overflowed and spilled onto the bare floor, while in another open box various tools and equipment could be seen, Sportacus recognizing some from Pixel's computer repair kit. Robbie sat hunched over in the center of the room, muttering to himself while he sifted through a box filled paint and other art supplies, not noticing the other man's presence behind him.  
  
After a moment of simply watching the man dig through his belongings, Sportacus eventually cleared his throat, making Robbie whirl around in surprise, glaring at the Icelandic man from behind a pair of reading glasses. The glasses didn't look very bad on the man, Sportacus noted, before he even realized he was thinking such a thing. He hoped he wasn't blushing.  
  
"I didn't think you'd actually come back." Robbie commented dryly, though he didn't sound entirely disappointed or angry, more perplexed than anything.  
  
Robbie pulled himself from the ground with a groan, stretching and allowing his joints to crack loudly, making Sportacus grimace at the unhealthy noise. The taller man snickered at Sportacus' displeasure and him out of the cluttered office.  
  
"I guess I have to be a good host and offer you a drink." Robbie sighed dramatically, staring at the Icelandic man pointedly.  
  
"Oh, you don't have to, I'm perfectly fine." Sportacus said.  
  
"Good, because I didn't want to." Robbie said, plopping down onto one of the stools by the island counter. Sportacus laughed and joined him, sitting beside him on the second stool.  
  
"Ella and Stephanie seem to be getting along nicely." Sportacus said, starting a conversation easily, "Stephanie even put together a party for Ella."  
  
"Now why would she do something like that?" Robbie asked with a snort.  
  
"To cheer her up, I think." Sportacus hummed, "that's what she told me, at least. Stephanie always tries to cheer people up when she thinks they're upset. She has a very friendly nature."  
  
"Sounds exhausting," Robbie muttered, "she obviously takes after you with that do-good attitude of yours."  
  
Sportacus smiled at what he presumed was a compliment, "I would certainly hope so. I was honestly really worried I wouldn't be a good father when I adopted her."  
  
Robbie nodded distractedly, but then froze, staring at Sportacus owlishly. It didn't occur to him that he had said anything out of place until Robbie spoke again, very obviously put out of place.  
  
"Adopted? Pinky is adopted?" He asked in a hushed tone.  
  
"Oh," Sportacus murmured in realization, "I thought I told you already."  
  
He suddenly felt very uneasy and desperately hoped the conversation wouldn't go where his anxiety was saying it would go.p  
  
"Does it bother you?" He asked uncertainty.  
  
"Bother me?" Robbie responded, "Why would it bother me? I just...you don't really seem the type to adopt, honestly. With your muscles and personality, you could snatch up any woman you wanted and she gladly have your kids - yet you adopt. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me."  
  
"Who says I'd want a woman?" Sportacus laughed under his breath before he realized what he had said. He threw a hand over his mouth and looked over at Robbie, wide-eyed and in shock, "Did I say that out loud?"  
  
Robbie seemed to be equally, if not more, shocked as he was, eyes wide and mouth hanging open slightly.  
  
"Yeah, yeah you did." Robbie nodded slowly.  
  
The sinking feeling returned again, Sportacus' fear beginning to eat a steady whole in his chest as the awkward silence stretched on between them. Meekly, Sportacus sighed and stood up from his seat, eyes fixed stubbornly on the counter as he broke the silence.  
  
"I guess I'll be going." Sportacus mumbled quietly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "bye, Robbie."  
  
He was ready to leave, or for Robbie to kick him out. Either way, Sportacus expected the worst. So when Robbie grabbed him by the arm and held him in place, it was easy to say that he was shocked.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" Robbie snapped, standing up from his seat to crowd closer into the shorter man's personal space.  
  
"Leaving...?" Sportacus answered uncertainty, feeling as if he had given the wrong answer.  
  
"What? Do you think I'd kick you out over something as simple as that?" Robbie said, voice biting as he released the man's arm so he could put his own hands on his hips in a judgmental stance, "do you really think so little of me?"  
  
"Of course not!" Sportacus defended quickly, his hands shooting up in defense, "I just didn't really expect you would want me to stay, considering that I'm-"  
  
"That's stupid," Robbie interrupted, "you're stupid, I don't give a rat's ass about that, why would I care? I may be an unlikeable jerk, but I'm not a hypocrite, Sportastupid."  
  
The taller man towered over Sportacus, frowning while unceremoniously shoved him back onto the stool. In all honesty, Sportacus could have resisted the shove, but found himself unable to, too shocked to really fight back, physically or emotionally.  
  
"I'm sorry, Robbie," Sportacus apologized, feeling guilty for assuming the man would react negatively to the information, "I'm just not very familiar with...positive reactions to it, y'know?"  
  
Robbie hummed and nodded in understanding, forgoing his seat in favor of leaning his elbows on the counter space directly next to the Icelandic man.  
  
"Iceland is far more accepting, or at least my town was, but I didn't realize that until I moved here," Sportacus continued with a resigned sigh, "being foreign didn't really help, but my sexuality made things so much more worse. I became a walking target, so to speak."  
  
He didn't remember his American school days fondly, any actual good memories easily overshadowed by the endless days of ridicule and biting comments. While his father and brother both tried to help and understand, it was obvious that they had thicker skin than he did, confused as to why it hurt him so much. To him, though, it might has well have been legal torture.  
  
Sportacus took the moment of silence as an opportunity to finally look up at Robbie and guage his reaction. His dark brows were furrowed deeply with concern, while his eyes were alight with rage, somewhat faraway as the man seemed to recall something Sportacus couldn't pinpoint. When Robbie noticed him staring, though, he quickly washed the visceral reaction from his face, replacing it with his usual indifferent expression.  
  
"So..." Robbie said, coughing into his fist in an attempt to distract from his very obvious display of emotion, "how does Pinky play into all of this? Being gay isn't usually directly followed by being a single parent, in my experience."  
  
Sportacus smiled fondly, "I've always loved children, I was always babysitting when I was younger, then I worked as a P.E. teacher for a few years. I knew very early on that I wanted children of my own."  
  
"So why not find a guy, settle down, and adopt some brats with him?" Robbie asked, "you'd be a picture-perfect gay family. Who knows, you might have even gotten your very own sitcom."  
  
Sportacus laughed and shook his head, "I wanted children more than I wanted a relationship. It seemed selfish to get into a romantic relationship for the sheer fact of wanting children, even if they did want the same. So I just decided to adopt as a single parent, to make things easier on myself."  
  
"Easier?" Robbie questioned.  
  
"My sexuality would have gotten in the way of the adoption process if I had been open about it. I didn't want it getting in the way of the family I wanted." Sportacus explained simply.  
  
"What about Pinky? Does she know she's adopted?" Robbie asked, very involved in the conversation in that moment, Sportacus noted.  
  
"Of course," Sportacus said, "I adopted her when she was six, so Stephanie remembers it all fairly well and she knows that I love her just the same if she were my blood-related daughter."  
  
"How sappy." Robbie muttered from behind his hand, though Sportacus could see the smile that he was trying to hide.  
  
"Bringing Stephanie home might have been the happiest day of my life." Sportacus smiled, sighing happily as he recalled that day.  
  
"...and does she know that you're gay?" Robbie questioned hesitantly.  
  
Sportacus' smile faltered for a moment before disappearing from his face completely, replaced with a tentative frown.  
  
"Yes, she knows," Sportacus nodded, "but I asked her to keep it quiet."  
  
"Why?" Robbie huffed in offense, "she loves you all the same, doesn't she? So, what does it matter?"  
  
"Of course she does!" Sportacus defended loudly, "I just don't want her going through what I had to go through. It's not her fault that I'm like this, so she doesn't deserve to pay for my own shortcomings."  
  
"Shortcomings, huh." Robbie snorted humorlessly.  
  
Robbie was silent after that, making Sportacus wonder if he had said something wrong without meaning to. He was simply speaking from the heart, but that had gotten him in the trouble in the past, so it would be no surprise to him if he had somehow upset the other man.  
  
After a moment of long silence, Robbie straightened and moved into the kitchen, opening and rifling through the fridge while Sportacus stared at his back. He stood straight once more, soda in hand, but did not turn to face Sportacus.  
  
"How old are you, anyway?" Robbie finally spoke, though his tone gave nothing away.  
  
"34." Sportacus answered uncertainly, secretly hoping that it was Robbie's odd way of changing topics.  
  
"A little young to be so certain your lifestyle is wrong, don't you think?" Robbie asked, tone accusatory, if not slightly angry.  
  
"Im not that young." Sportacus defended self consciously, "What about you, Robbie? How old are you?"  
  
"I'm 27."  
  
"You're younger than me! So who are you to - wait a minute, "Sportacus ready to get defensive and stand his ground, but a sudden realization hit him in a ferocious wave, "how old is Ella, Robbie?"  
  
"11."  
  
Sportacus wished Robbie would just look at him, instead of stubbornly keeping his back to him.  
  
"Robbie...?" Sportacus asked uncertainly, suddenly very concerned. He stood up and moved around the counter to try and attempt to get Robbie to look at him.  
  
"We all make mistakes," Robbie murmured softly, "some just become permanent."  
  
Robbie finally turned to face Sportacus, eyes downcast and looking overall world-weary and exhausted, both emotionally and physically. His eyes looked distant, glazed over wit what Sportacus could only describe as regret.  
  
It made his heart clench painfully.  
  
"Don't punish yourself for something you can't control, just because others gave you hell for it," Robbie said softly, voice defeated and strained, "Stephanie loves you. That's all that should matter."  
  
Sportacus desperately wanted to pry and ask what Robbie meant, or what had happened to make him say something so foreboding and serious, when he was usually anything but. But he was fearful of upsetting the man, so instead of prying and pushing, he simple walked forward and placed his hand on Robbie's shoulder, squeezing in what he could only hope was a reassuring act  
  
And, for once, he found himself lacking any encouraging words to say.  


 


	6. Chapter 6

With help from the cheerful father-daughter duo, Robbie and Ella found themselves settling into Lazytown with very little difficulty. Of course, being the bad luck magnets that they were, the two had their fair share of mishaps as the days and weeks of summer passed them by.

But as Ella found herself surrounded by Stephanie and her friends more often, she found the problems she had been holding inside of her didn't bother her as much.

Even if she did still refuse to talk about them.

But it was as if Stephanie had a way of coaxing emotions out of the older girl, no matter how hard she tried to keep her heart under strict lock and key.

One day hot summer day, similar to many others that had plagued the town that previous week, the two girls sat on the steps of their apartment building, relaxing in the shade in favor of being stuck inside. With the heat being so sweltering and unrelenting, their options for the summer day were limited.

That didn't stop Stephanie from coming up with games to play, though.

"What about...tic-tac-toe?" Stephanie suggested, looking at the other girl hopefully.

"Boring." Ella murmured tiredly.

"Go fish?"

"That's for little kids," Ella refuted with a frustrated sigh, "what about poker?"

"Isn't that for adults?" Stephanie asked, "Do you even know how to play?"

"That never stopped me before," Ella shrugged, "my uncle taught me how to play last summer, but he always won because all he would speak was Icelandic cause he knows I'm bad at it. He called it ‘a learning experience’ but I'm pretty sure he just wanted my birthday money."

"I don't think my dad would appreciate me gambling," Stephanie said, "even if it was in Icelandic."

"You're no fun." Ella huffed, falling back onto the stairs with a frustrated sigh, "I'm out of ideas."

Stephanie sighed as well, leaning against her hands while she tried to come up with a game they could both agree with. There was a long stretch of silence before the younger girl was struck with an idea.

"What about two-truths-and-a-lie?" Stephanie suggested, excited by her own epiphany.

"Sounds made up." Ella muttered, not looking up from the hand that shaded her eyes .

"No, it's real! I didn't even come up with it!" Stephanie insisted, "It's where you come up with three facts about yourself, where two are the truth and one is a lie, then the other person has to guess which one is the lie."

The other girl's brow furrowed together in thought before they relaxed and she shrugged.

"Ok, fine. First good idea we've had, so I'd be stupid to say no," Ella sighed, "but you're going first, I refuse to mess up just because I don't know what I'm doing."

Stephanie clapped excitedly and immediately began to brainstorm for something that would stump her friend. While she loved the game, it was hard to come up with something perfect ot stump the other player. She hummed and tapped her fingers against the concrete of the stairs until her face split into an excited grin, delighted by the choices she had come up with.

"Alright, I've got something!" Stephanie announced, "My middle name is Rose, my favorite color is pink, and I have a birthmark in the shape of a heart on my shoulder."

Ella hesitated for a moment while she considered the information, but then smirked with confidence once she decided on an answer, "The birthmark is the lie."

"Nope!" Stephanie giggled, shifting to expose the back of her left shoulder. Directly in the center of the smooth, tanned skin lay a lop-sided heart, the shape many shades darker than the rest of her skin.

"Wow." Ella mumbled, tentatively reaching out to touch the mark, "that's really cool."

"Thanks!" Stephanie smiled, tugging her sleeve back in place when Ella was done marveling at it.

"Well, your favorite color is obviously pink, either that or my entire life is a lie," Ella deduced, continuing when Stephanie nodded in confirmation, "so, what's your middle name?"

"Stirða." Stephanie answered with a practiced roll of her tongue, then poked Ella in the arm expectantly, "It's your turn now."

Nodding, Ela grew silent while she contemplated what she would say. She didn't really talk about herself very much, she realized, giving her leverage in the game. Being emotionally closed off paid off in weird ways - it was rarely a good thing, but sometimes it was.

"Alright, uh..." Ella began hesitantly, holding up one finger to indicate her first statement, "I once got locked in a closet for an hour, my favorite snow cone flavor is cherry, and I broke my leg doing a flip when I was little."

"Wow," Stephanie gaped, "yours are good!"

"I guess that means I'm a good liar." Ella smirked with confidence.

It took longer for Stephanie to decide than Ella and when she did decide, she was far less confident in her answer than Ella had been.

"Um...snow cone flavor?" Stephanie guessed slowly, "you seem like you would like grape."

"Gross, no!" Ella said, "grape snow cones taste like cough syrup!"

"So I'm wrong?" The younger girl asked with a pout.

"Yup," Ella grinned, "I was locked in the closet for two hours."

"How?!" Stephanie gasped with concern.

"My uncle got mad that I managed to win a game of poker," Ella explained, "so he locked me in the bathroom closet."

Ella expected Stephane to be shocked and concerned, to question her weird, Icelandic uncle. But she didn't. In fact, Stephanie began to laugh, switching between full-bellied laughter and small, snorting giggles.

"That's hilarious!" Stephanie giggled, "It's like when Trixie locked Ziggy in the treehouse and stole all of his candy!"

Then she stopped giggling for a moment, growing serious, "It was a mean trick and we made her give it back...but it was still kind of funny."

Ella snickered as well, "It was really funny when dad came back and my uncle couldn't come up with an excuse for where I had gone."

"Did you get back at him?"

"Yup. When he unlocked the door, I played dead." Ella said with pride.

Stephanie gasped loudly, "That's so mean!"

Ella shrugged, "In my defense, he locked me in a closet. He deserved it."

"Man, I need to come up with something good next, don't I?" Stephanie said, frowning as she wracked her brain for something that would one up the older girl.

Ella didn't say anything else, instead relaxing against the concrete stairs, confident after she had stumped her friend.

The closet incident was actually a pretty fond memory in Ella's book, after she got over the anger of being left in a closet because of a petty dispute with her weird uncle. It was hard to stay mad, especially after her uncle had started crying when she had played dead. His eyeliner had streaked down his cheeks and everything -- even her dad laughed.

Not that it mattered. 

"Ok, I've got it!" Stephanie chirped, pulling Ella out of her spiraling thoughts.

Ella nodded and perked up, ready to win at least once.

"Alright, I've never ever swallowed a piece of gum, I'm left handed, and I used to live in a foster home!"

Ella rolled her eyes, "Do you really think I'm going to fall for that? Foster home is the lie."

"Nope." Stephanie giggled.

"What?" Ella froze, "Seriously?! What's the lie then?"

"I'm right-handed." Stephanie said smugly, waving her right hand teasingly.

Ella pouted, upset at having lost again, especially when she had been so confident in her answer. But then she paused, realization catching up with her in a delayed instant.

"Why did you live in a foster home?" Ella asked slowly.

She expected the other girl to get upset at her prying, but instead Stephane just smiled and shrugged easily, like the question wasn't a big deal to her.

"I got put up for adoption when I was a baby." Stephanie explained easily, not with any of the sadness that Ella had expected her to have.

"Really?" Ella said, floored by how smoothly Stephanie was explaining the whole thing, "so your dad isn't your real dad?"

Stephanie shook her head, "Nope, but it doesn't matter, because he's my dad now and I love him a lot."

Ella found herself at a loss for words as she stared at the younger, confident girl. How could she be so okay with being adopted, basically being abandoned by her birth parents?

It didn't make any sense.

"What about..." Ella began to ask, hesitating , as she was unsure if she should really voice her question, "...do you have a mom?"

Stephanie hummed in thought, then shrugged against, though less carefree before and with more uncertainty, "Technically, yes, someone out there is my mom. Not really, though, because whoever that is didn't raise me -- so they're not really my mom, y'know? Dad told me my mom gave me up because she wanted me to have a better life, which was nice of her, I guess, but -- Ella? Are you okay?"

Having been too wrapped up in her own rambling, Stephanie failed to notice that Ella had begun to cry, only snapping out of it when I hiccuping sob escaped the older girl's chest. Gasping with concern, Stephanie leaned in closer to the crying girl to try and get her attention.

"Ella? What's wrong? Was it something I said?" Stephanie asked, voice laced with concern.

Ella hiccuped and furiously rubbed at her wet eyes, desperately trying to stop the tears., but it was no use She breathed in sharply, looking up at Stephanie with blood-shot eyes.

"H-How could she do that?" Ella asked, voice breaking as she tried to control the emotions overwhelming her.

"What do you mean?" Stephanie pressed as gently as she could manage.

"Your mom!" Ella specified, anger suddenly mixing in with her sadness, "how could she abandon you like that?! She was your mom, she was supposed to protect you! Why did she leave?"

Ella's angry shouting broke off into loud sobbing, the girl no longer trying to hide her crying. At first, Stephanie wasn't sure about what she should have done, scared and concerned for her new friend. But when the realization dawned upon her, she quickly reached out and hugged her crying friend, almost on the verge of tears herself.

"Did your mom leave you, Ella?" Stephanie whispered.

Ella let out a painful sob, nodding shakily before returning Stephanie's hug tightly, letting the sobs wracked her body while her friend held onto her.

\- - - - - - - -

When Stephanie returned home later that day, she was on a mission. She had wanted Ella to spend the night after she had unintentionally poured her heart out, but Ella said she wanted to go home and Stephanie knew better than to push her any farther than she already had. One thing at a time, like her dad taught her.

But just because she couldn't be there for her friend as long as she had wanted, didn't mean she wasn't already planning something. Much to her luck, when she returned home, Stephanie found her dad in his personal exercise room, casually lifting weights while humming along to the music playing through his earbuds. He stopped immediately when he noticed his daughter standing in the doorway.

"Hi, Stephanie!" Sportacus greeted, setting his weights down and tearing out his earbuds so that he could gently wrap the girl in a hug. He was sweaty, but Stephanie didn't mind -- she just liked hugs.

"Hi, dad." Stephanie smiled, craning her neck to look up at her dad.

"Did you and Ella have fun?" Sportacus asked, continuing the conversation as he walked past the girl and into the kitchen, grabbing a cold water bottle from the fridge.

"It was okay, it was hot." Stephanie shrugged, following her dad into the kitchen.

"Remember to drink lots of water, I don't want you getting sick in this heat." Sportacus said, pulling another bottle of water from the fridge and handing it to the girl.

Stephanie smiled and gratefully took the water bottle, realizing how thirsty she actually was. While she sipped on the water, she rocked on the balls of her feet, mustering up the courage to bring up her plan to her father.

"I wanted to ask you something." Stephanie said hesitantly after a moment of silence.

"You know you can ask me anything, Stephanie." Sportacus smiled.

"Do you think we could invite Robbie and Ella over sometime?" Stephanie asked, swinging her arms idly while she looked up at her dad shyly, "For dinner or something?"

A wide grin spread across Sportacus' face, "That's a great idea, Stephanie! What made you think of that?"

Stephanie didn't want to tell her specifically what had prompted her to come up with the idea, feeling like it might be an invasion of Ella's privacy. She wasn't exactly keen on telling her friend's secrets, considering they hadn't even been friends very long.

"I dunno," Stephanie lied casually, with a shrug, "they eat a lot of junk food and take out, so I don't think Robbie can cook, so I thought they might enjoy a home-cooked meal!"

It sounded better than her real reason, at least. 

"Well, it's little late now," Sportacus hummed, looking at the clock, "maybe tomorrow? You can ask Robbie, then we can go to the store and pick some things out."

Stephanie smiled excitedly, happy that her plan was going into motion smoothly, "Can I--"

"Bake a cake? Of course." Sportacus interrupted with an amused smile.

Stephanie ran forward and hugged her dad around the middle, "Thanks, dad."


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, after she had eaten lunch, Stephanie ran down the apartment stairs and stood before Robbie's apartment, already smiling with barely contained excitement. She knocked a few times, then stepped back to wait on someone to open the door.  
  
...Then knocked again after nothing happened.  
  
Stephanie frowned and wilted slightly when she realized that her plan might not work out as well as she had thought it would. Thankfully, though, by the time she was done with the third knock, the door swung open, revealing a disheveled and tired looking Ella on the other side.  
  
"Oh, it's you," Ella murmured softly, eyes alight with recognition, instead of annoyance like that they had been just a moment ago, "sorry, sorry, I thought you were a Jehovah's Witness."  
  
"What's that?" Stephanie asked, not sure what Ella was talking about.  
  
"No idea," Ella shrugged, "dad just told me not to open the door for them."  
  
Stephanie mentally added that to the list of things to ask her dad about. That list had gotten a whole lot longer since she'd met Ella and Robbie.  
  
"Well, it's just me," Stephanie said, "I came by to ask your dad something."  
  
Ella snorted, "Good luck, he's asleep."  
  
Stephanie laughed and rolled her eyes, pretty familiar with Robbie's odd sleeping habits.  
  
"Should I come back later?"  
  
Ella paused for a moment, thinking something over silently in her head. But the moment passed quickly, leaving behind a devious smirk on the girl's lips.  
  
"I have an idea." Ella grinned, opening the front door wide and gesturing for the other girl to come inside.  
  
Stephanie watched in relative silence while she followed Ella into the kitchen, mostly curious about what her older friend had planned. It all clicked into place, however, when Ella filled a tall glass with water and began to walk towards her dad's office.  
  
Silently, the tall girl nudged open the door, revealing Robbie, fast asleep and slumped over at his work desk. She turned and motioned for Stephanie to be silent while she inched forward into the room as quietly as she could.  
  
Then, when she was perched right beside her sleeping father, she unceremoniously dumped the glass of cold water over his head. Robbie sprang up immediately, confused and spluttering as water quickly soaked through his shirt and dripped down his back.  
  
"I'm being attacked!" Robbie shrieked, scrambling to run from whatever he thought was attacing him. He didn't get far, though, immediately tripping over his own long legs and falling onto his back in a jumbled heap.  
  
Ella cackled wildly while Stephanie tried and failed to stifle her own laughter when she looked down at Robbie. He glared at Stephanie accusingly, but he simply giggled and shrugged innocently.  
  
"It was Ella's idea." Stephanie giggled, pointing at the still-cackling girl.  
  
Robbie groaned and sat up from the floor, his already-messy hair dripping in a wet curtain over his tired eyes. He looked pretty upset, but it was hard not to laugh at the grown man reacting so childishly over a prank.  
  
"I hate children." Robbie muttered darkly, glaring at his daughter half-heartedly.  
  
"Right back 'atcha," Ella snickered, "You're welcome for waking you up, by the way."  
  
Robbie rolled his eyes and pulled himself off of the ground unceremoniously, groaning and stumbling over himself. He cracked his neck with a painful sound, then looked down at Stephanie with obvious distaste.  
  
"Shouldn't you be outside playing soccer or something?" Robbie asked with a sneer, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at te girl.  
  
"I already played soccer this morning," Stephanie smiled, "I came by to ask you something!"  
  
"Oh, really?" Robbie asked with sarcastic interest, though Stephanie could tell he was actually curious, "if it involves vegetables I'm kicking you out."  
  
Stephanie shook her head with a grin, "No, I was gonna ask if you and Ella wanted to come over for dinner tonight!"  
  
Both Robbie and Ella is tared at her for a long moment, faces torn in comically similar looks of barely contained shock and confusion. Stephanie waited patiently for them to snap out of it, rocking on the balls of her feet while she watched the pair sort through their internal shock.  
  
"Is this a trick to make me eat health crap?" Robbie grumbled after awhile, "I will die before I eat spinach."  
  
"Dad, shut up." Ella snapped, glaring at her childish father, "what time do you want us over, Stephanie?"  
  
"Six is a good time, but you can come earlier if you want!" Stephanie grinned.  
  
"We'll be there." Ella said, smiling her own small smile in return.  
  
  
  
            - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
  
At first, Sportacus had been insistent on making the healthiest meal possible for when Robbie and Ella joined them for dinner, fidgeting with pent up excitement as he sifted through an abundance of recipes. Stephanie was quick to intervene, though, reminding him that Robbie was a picky eater and giving her own father of very familiar pep talk on accepting people whether they liked the same things as you or not. While Sportacus wasn't very keen on preparing an unhealthy meal, he was happy to see that his daughter was becoming wise in her age.  
  
After a lot of contemplation and some disagreement, Sportacus and Stephanie finally settled on homemade veggie lasagna with salad and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Sportacus was a bit reluctant at first, considering lasagna wasn't exactly a healthy thing to eat, but Stephanie used her persuasion skills and reminded her dad that it was probably a lot healthier than whatever Robbie and Ella were eating on a daily basis.  
  
With that in mind, Sportacus was a lot more compliant the rest of the early evening.  
  
Stephanie, of course, was most excited to make the strawberry shortcake, baking being her favorite hobby and the recipe being her favorite. She found herself making three mini cakes later that evening, one for her, Ella, and Robbie, mindfully leaving her dad out of the sugary equation, on account of is inability to eat sugar. It was no trouble though, after so many years Stephanie had grown used to it.  
  
By the time everything was nearly done that evening, Stephanie could barely sit still, flitting to every corner of the apartment as she tried to contain her own bubbling excitement, though. She found it difficult,, though, as a nine-year-old could only contain so much excitement before it spilled over.  
  
Sportacus watched with an amused smile as he finished the dinner preparations.  
  
"Stephanie," Sportacus chuckled,making the girl pause in the middle of her own pacing, "I know you're excited, but you'll tire yourself out if you keep pacing like that. You wouldn't want to fall asleep in the middle of dinner, would you?"  
  
"I know, I know, I'm just too excited!" Stephanie huffed, "we haven't had people over in forever!"  
  
"I'm pretty sure you had a sleepover a few weeks ago."  
  
"But that was forever ago!" Stephanie whined, finally stopping her exciteable pacing in favor of falling face-first onto the couch.  
  
Sportacus laughed softly and rolled his eyes playfully at his daughter's antics, content as he went back to finishing dinner. It was already a bit after six by the time he brought the dishes of lasagna and salad over to the table, the man slightly worried about the time, but not too stressed out over it. Afterall, Robbie and Ella hadn't even arrived yet.  
  
So why was he so nervous? It was just dinner.  
  
Before Sportacus could sort through his misplaced anxiety, the doorbell rang. That, combined with Stephanie's excited squeal, was enough to pull him away from his own thoughts and back onto the main focus of the night: a nice, calm dinner. Nothing to be nervous about.  
  
Stephanie sprinted over to the door before Sportacus could even manage a step towards it, the girl swinging it open to reveal their guests for te evening. Ella stood tall in the center of the doorframe, stoic as her hand gripped her father's purple dress shirt in a tight fist, keeping the man in place. Robbie looked uncomfortable and out of place, pouting stubbornly, but chose not to put up much of a fight.  
  
  
That didn't stop him from complaining, though.  
  
  
"This was a bad idea." Robbie muttered darkly.  
  
"Stop being stupid." Ella snapped, tugging on her dad's sleeve even harder.  
  
"When did you get so strong?" Robbie asked when his attempt tp struggle free from his daughter's grip failed.  
  
"Hi Robbie, Hi Ella!" Stephanie greeted happily, interrupting their stubborn banter.  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Ella glared at her father, then sent a swift kick to his shin.  
  
"Ow!" Robbie cried out, glaring at his smug daughter before rolling his eyes and sighing in defeat, "hello, little pink girl."  
  
Stephanie giggled at their strange dynamic, amused by their odd role reversal as parent and child. The girl opened the front door and allowed the two to walk inside.  
  
Robbie eyed the lasagna on the table with a surprised expression, "That actually smells really good. I thought I was going to be force-fed raw spinach."  
  
"Thank you, Robbie," Sportacus smiled, "It was Stephanie's idea, really. All of this was."  
  
"Well, aren't you just a little genius." Robbie chuckled, reaching over to ruffle the girl's pink hair, making it stick up in a mess of stray hairs.  
  
Stephanie pouted and swatted away the man's hand, trying to smooth down her mussed-up hair. She stuck her tongue out at Robbie and the man quickly returned the gesture, adding in a wet raspberry for childish effect.  
  
Sportacus laughed at the interaction, reminded of two stubborn children, even though one was a full grown man. But that simply made the whole back and forth that much more endearing and amusing.  
  
Ella rolled her eyes and sent a hard poke into her father's side, making the man yelp loudly and shoot a withering glare at his daughter. Not that it affected her in any way.  
  
"My dad is an actual child." Ella snorted.  
  
"A really tall child." Stephanie giggled in agreement.  
  
"Hey, hey, no need to tease Robbie so much," Sportacus chided, "Robbie is, at the very least, a stubborn teenager."  
  
Ella and Stephanie both burst into a fit of giggles while Robbie flushed a bright red. Sportacus chuckled and shrugged innocently when Robbie shot him an angry, betrayed look, the shorter man unable to hide his amusement.  
  
"Can we just eat dinner?" Robbie grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and staring stubbornly at the ground while he tried in vain to hide his blush.  
  
"Of course." Sportacus said, gesturing to the set table, allowing Ella and Robbie to be seated first before he and Stephanie joined them.  
  
Robbie eyed the large bowl of salad with disdain for a moment, before quickly stopping himself. He had some manners, afterall.  
  
"Not bad, Sportaflop." Robbie said finally, for fear of appearing ride. Realistically, he was simply overwhelmed by the whole premise. It wasn't everyday people were so kind to him without some form of a catch, so he really couldn't help but be on edge.  
  
"Thanks, Robbie." Sportacus smiled warmly and Robbie absolutely did not fell his heart flutter.  
  
He chose to blame it on the energy drink he had before they arrived at the apartment.  
  
"I helped!" Stephanie grinned, proud of herself for helping pull everything together.  
  
Robbie chuckled and reached out to ruffle the girl's hair again, the girl giggling and slapping his hand away before he could even touch her pink head.  
  
"I'm not surprised, you're like a little bulldozer." Robbie said with a chuckle, which Stephanie responded to with a playful raspberry.  
  
Without another word, Sportacus began to dish out the meal, despite Robbie's protest that he could do it himself, and no he did not need any salad and he didn't care if it was good for him. He ended up giving in after Stephanie and Ella began to laugh at him again, waving his hand and letting Sportacus drop some salad onto his plate without any complaint. Didn't mean he was going to eat it, though.  
  
After that, dinner was actually...pleasant, much to Robbie's surprise. Conversation was steady, with very few silences, the only somber parts happening when they actually ate. Ella was surprisingly talkative throughout it all, shocking Robbie each time she laughed or made a joke.  
  
It all felt very natural, as if they had come together many times before, despite it being the very first. Robbie found himself relaxing afterwhile, his anxiety from earlier in the evening slowly calming, though it still remained simmering beneath the surface, like it always did. But it wasn't anything he wasn't already used to.  
  
"Hey, dad?" Stephanie spoke up after they had finished dessert, "Can me and Ella go play outside?"  
  
"What she said." Ella said to Robbie.  
  
"Sure, just stay close to the building." Sportacus said.  
  
"What he said." Robbie said to Ella.  
  
The two girls didn't waste any time grabbing twin jumpropes from Stephanie's room before running outside, leaving their fathers alone at the dinner table.  
  
Robbie was already dreading the awkward silence, but it never seemed to come. There was only a quick pause before Sportacus was speaking.  
  
"I'm really glad you decided to come, Robbie," Sportacus said, his gentle smile sickeningly genuine, "tonight was really fun.  
"  
  
Not exactly prepared to be assaulted with the soft, accented tone of the older man's voice, Robbie found himself hesitating due to his own uncertainty.  
  
"W-Well it wasn't like I could say no to that little pink hurricane," Robbie managed to say, "Ella was pretty insistent on coming, anyway."  
  
Sportacus laughed, "Stephanie can be pretty stubborn when she wants to be."  
  
Robbie snorted before he could stop himself, "Stubborn? She's an angel compared to how stubborn Ella can get."  
  
"Really? She seems pretty quiet to me."  
  
Robbie sighed. Of course things had to get a little bit serious again. It was like it couldn't be avoided between the two fathers, but it wasn't like Robbie was going to try and change the topic and create another form of tension between them. He wasn't stupid.  
  
"I think that's more of a recent development," Robbie sighed, "she's become reserved these past few months."  
  
"Do you know why that might be?" Sportacus asked gently, leaning forward slightly to give Robbie a sympathetic, yet curious look. Damn him and his stupid, caring nature.  
  
"Well," Robbie started, "I guess that depends on who you're asking."  
  
Sportacus laughed quitely, not missing Robbie's attempt at stalling, "You. I'm asking you, Robbie."  
  
Robbie rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically, "Well, since you asked, I'm almost certain Ella blames me for my ex-wife's and I's divorce. Which, I understand, if I'm being totally honest. It's just hard when I'm her primary guardian."  
  
Sportacus was silent for a moment, which gave Robbie a second to realize that he had unitentionally just dropped a major truth bomb about himself without really meaning to. He had planned to hint at it, not just outright tell the man.  
  
That damn athletic man just had a way of pulling information out of him without even trying.  
  
"Shit," Robbie cursed, starting to stand up from the table "I didn't mean to drop that on you, I just--"  
  
"No, no," Sportacus interrupted quickly, placing a warm hand over Robbie's in an attempt to keep him from running off, "I'm glad you told me, Robbie. It makes a lot of sense that Ella would be upset after that happened."  
  
Robbie paused, then nodded solemnly, taking his place back at the table, but not moving to remove his hand from beneath Sportacus'. He hadn't even realized how cold his hands were until the other man's warm hand was on top of his.  
  
"Though, I guess I don't really understand why she would blame you." Sportacus said with a frown.  
  
Robbie shrugged, "I took it a lot harder than my wife did. Ella noticed that I always got upset after I did something wrong or messed up, so she must have made the connection in her head. She's a smart girl."  
  
"I'm glad she and Stephanie are growing closer," Sportacus said with a smile, trying to shift the topic to something a bit more positive while he still had the chance, "it seemed like Ella needed a good friend."  
  
"She seems happier," Robbie agreed, "Just wish I could be a better father to her. Not everyone can be a superhero parent like you, Sportaflop."  
  
Sportacus shook hid head, "I'm no superhero, Robbie--"  
  
"Could've fooled me."  
  
"--I spent a long time preparing to be a dad..."  
  
Sportacus squeezed Robbie's hand reassuringly, the taller man not even thinking to snatch his hand away.  
  
"And I know you didn't get the chance, you're doing your best, I can tell."  
  
As much as Robbie hated to admit it, the man had a point. Like he had told him, Sportacus had always wanted to be a father, while Robbie was...thrust into it. But that wasn't the problem.  
  
"That's not the problem, Sportastupid," Robbie sighed, "that was a long time ago, I mean now."  
  
Sportacus was silent, not wanting to interrupt and ruin such a vulnerable moment.  
  
"Ella's mother," Robbie began softly, "she was young, too. I tried to make things work, but I screwed up, obviously."  
  
The two fathers were silent after that, but it wasn't awkward by any means, more comforting than anything. For once, Robbie didn't regret opening up to someone. It felt good to voice the issue with someone, especially Sportacus.  
  
"Since Stephanie and Ella seem to be becoming good friends," Sportacus spoke up, "do you think we could be friends as well, Robbie?"  
  
Robbie laughed loudly, but stopped when he realized Sportacus was not laughing with him. In fact, all he did was smile nervously at the taller man, making Robbie feeling a bit like an asshole.  
  
"Oh, you're serious?" Robbie gaped, "I unload my failed marriage baggage onto you and your concern is being friends?"  
  
"Maybe?" Sportacus said.  
  
Absolutely unbelievable. Robbie couldn't believe the man was even real at that point. He laughed again, both out of humor and disbelief.  
  
"Fine, I'll be your stupid friend."  
  
  
  
  


 


	8. Chapter 8

As weeks passed, Robbie found himself in the company of Sportacus more often than not. Not that he minded, it simply wasn't what he had expected when they had moved to Lazytown. Robbie had expected isolation, to not be bothered with troublesome things like noisy cities and neighborly small talk. That was specifically why he had chosen Lazytown, the nearest small town with a miniscule population.  
  
So when he found himself in the company of the bubbly, athletic man, it was needless to say that his expectations had been squashed and buried just like his previous marriage.  
  
The two men never did anything of interest, mostly because of Robbie's reluctance to and the sheer fact that they didn't feel the need to. They were content with the pattern they had fallen into - Sportacus stopping by before or after his runs, sometimes after his shift at the gym, sparking conversations with Robbie while he worked on his latest project.  
  
Or, at least, Robbie was content.  
  
Sportacus, on the other hand, was only content with the pattern for a short time, around a week or two before he started suggesting other things for them to do.  
  
"Would you and Ella like to come with me and Stephanie to the farmer's market this weekend?" Sportacus asked one week, fully optimistic that Robbie would agree.  
  
"Now, why would I want to do that?" Robbie asked slowly, not looking up from the stitching he was doing on a heavy, pleated skirt.  
  
"Farmers markets are fun!" Sportacus insisted.  
  
"Staring at vegetables and walking around is your idea of fun?" Robbie retorted, pausing his sewing to raise an eyebrow at the man, "you're a strange little man."  
  
"Come on, Robbie, it'll be fun!" Sportacus pressed.  
  
"We'll pass."  
  
Ella ended up joining them, anyway.

  
The second time Sportacus suggested something for Robbie to join in on, Robbie found himself slightly intrigued by the offer. But only slightly.  
  
"Stephanie invited Ella to come apple picking with us next weekend," Sportacus piped up around two weeks after the farmer's market, "would you like to join us?"  
  
"Sounds tiring." Robbie muttered in response, too busy focusing on his stitching to pay much mind to the request.  
  
"I thought you might say that," Sportacus sighed, but smiled nonetheless, "we're going to a candy shop after for fresh caramel apples!"  
  
At that, Robbie looked up from his work and stared at the older man quizzically.  
  
"Why would you do that? You can't even eat sugar." Robbie accused.  
  
"For you and the girls, of course, I know you love sweets." Sportacus smiled, happy that he had finally piqued Robbie's interests.  
  
Robbie hummed in thought, tempted by the offer, even if it meant he had to go outside and be active, away from the comfort of his home. But he wasn't too tempted, quickly finding an excuse to get out of the activity.  
  
"As tempting as that sounds," Robbie said, already feeling the disappointment from the older man beside him, "I actually planned to meet some clients and deliver some things, work stuff."  
He was lying through his teeth, for the most part, anyway. He was busy, yes, but not with work. Though, it might as well have been.  
  
But Robbie wasn't about to bring up his ex-wife, not after he had come to terms with his and Sportacus' friendship, not when things were finally starting to be okay.  
  
Ella ended up bringing Robbie a caramel apple from the candy store and Robbie ate half of it, much to Sportacus' delight.  
  
  
The third time Sportacus suggested something to Robbie, it actually ended up working for the better. Which was surprising, considering that Robbie had been more irritable than usual, on account of a particularly hard, sleepless night.   
  
Not the regular kind of sleepless night that Robbie was used to, but the kind where everything felt wrong and his own thoughts seemed to only serve the purpose of tormenting him.  
  
This led to Robbie migrating to the his beloved, gaudy, orange chair, not bothering to move for the majority of the day, even when Sportacus made his routine visit.  
  
Sportacus was sympathetic, though, sitting patiently by the atrocious chair, making light, quiet conversation with the other man.  
  
"You don't have to stay here," Robbie muttered after a while, "I know I'm terrible company."  
  
"No, no, you're fine, Robbie," Sportacus said, shaking his head, "I'm just happy to be here with you after you had such a rough night. I'm sure it helps to talk to someone."  
  
Robbie found Sportacus' words...actually very sweet, almost comforting. He knew he could be a bit difficult when he hadn't had a lot of sleep, so it was nice to be around someone who didn't mind.  
  
"Your altruistic side is showing." Robbie snickered.  
  
Sportacus shrugged, "I can't help it, I like to help people!"  
  
They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a moment after that, the more athletic of the two jumping up and pacing around the room to burn off excess energy from sitting still so long. Robbie had half the mind to snap at him, but decided to conserve his energy. Also to not be an asshole, but that was a passing thought.  
  
"Hey, Robbie?" Sportacus asked, breaking the silence and his pacing.  
  
"What is it, Sportaflop?" Robbie mumbled in tiredly response.  
  
"I wanted to ask you something," The man continued, a bit quiet and hard to hear behind his accent and hesitance, "Stephanie and I are going to the park later, would you like to join us?"  
  
What got Robbie's attention about the request was the fact that Sportacus was asking him, directly. Not as an add on to the trio of Sportacus, Stephanie, and Ella, but all on his own, instead of just an unneeded limb to an already functioning system.  
  
Robbie considered blowing the Icelandic man off for a third time, on account of his exhaustion, but thought better of it. Sportacus just looked so hopeful and pitiful, Robbie couldn't help but feel bad for all of the times he had turned him down.  
  
Robbie sighed dramatically, "Fine, I'll come, but I won't like it."

Sportacus grinned excitedly, "I'm glad, Robbie! It'll be fun -- I'm going to go tell Stephanie!"  
  
Without even saying good-bye, Sportacus was gone from the apartment, the sound of him running up the stairs echoing through Robbie's living room.  
  
He couldn't recall the last the someone had gotten so excited to spend time with him.  
  
  
  
Much to Robbie's displeasure, the energy-filled father/daughter duo decided to walk to the park. Objectively, it wasn't a long distance, only a few blocks, but that didn't stop Robbie from being overdramatic about it.  
  
"I cannot believe you two are attempting to murder me," Robbie muttered from beside the two on the sidewalk, "I can see the headlines now; local man, murdered by energetic mustachioed man and his pink partner in crime."  
  
"If they wanted to murder you, they would have done it awhile ago," Ella chimed in, "before people started to recognize you. It would be less suspicious."  
  
"I'm concerned that you know that." Robbie said warily, mindfully stepping away from his daughter to stand by Sportacus instead, "I think my daughter is going to murder me."  
  
"Again, I would have done it awhile ago." Ella said with an unamused eye roll.  
  
"Pinky, help me." Robbie hissed, ducking his head behind Sportacus, holding the other's man's arm for safety. But mostly for protection.  
  
"I didn't hear anything." Stephanie hummed, voice heavy with faux innocence.  
  
Sportacus chuckled and threw an arm over Robbie's shoulder, "Don't worry, Robbie, I'll protect you."  
  
Robbie blushed as the man held him closer, then grumbled, "Altruistic bastard."  
  
He ducked his head to conceal the redness of his cheeks.  
  
  
  
For a late summer afternoon, the park held a surprising sense of tranquility. A few people milled about, but overall, it was peaceful and quiet, much to Robbie's surprise.  
  
He had expected the park to be overrun by snotty brats and their uncaring parents, but instead found himself relaxing as the four of them walked beside the edge of the forest.  
  
As soon as the playground was in sight, Ella and Stephanie wasted no time sprinting towards it, quickly claiming the swingset as their own.  
  
"We've been abandoned," Robbie chuckled, "What now?"  
  
"There's a nature trail through the woods, want to go on it?" Sportacus suggested.  
  
"Are you going to jog? Because I will not hesitate to throw myself into that lake if you try to make me jog." Robbie said stubbornly.  
  
"Sportacus laughed, "I promise not to jog, Robbie."  
  
Robbie eyed the other man warily, not trusting his cheeriness and sincerity. Call him suspicious, but he was not about to get tricked into exercising. Hell, he was already outside, that was enough effort for the day on his part.  
  
"Pinky swear?" Robbie asked, holding out his raised pinky to the Icelandic man.  
  
Being the father of a nine-year-old girl, Sportacus understood the seriousness of a pinky promise. Without any hesitation, he intertwined his pinky with Robbie's, sealing the truce.  
  
"Pinky swear." Sportacus agreed, with more sincerity than expected from a man making a pinky promise.  
  
With the agreement between them, Sportacus led the way to the opening of the nature trail. For a summer afternoon, the weather was pleasantly mild, even more enjoyable beneath the shade of the trees.  
  
Robbie was even more pleased by the fact, the long sleeves of his button up usually less than enjoyable in the stifling summer heat. But he'd rather melt in the heat than wear a short-sleeve shirt in public.  
  
"So," Robbie said after a period of silence, "school's starting soon, yeah? Is your little pink brat excited?"  
  
Small talk had never really been his thing, but he was trying. Not very hard, but trying nonetheless.  
  
"Oh, she's very excited, Stephanie loves school," Sportacus smiled fondly, "what about Ella? Is she excited about going to a new school?"  
  
"Hell no," Robbie said immediately, "Ella is the exact opposite of excited, she's never liked school."  
  
"That's a shame. Did she not like it when she was little?" Sportacus asked, idly staring at the multi-colored wildflowers trailing the forest path.  
  
Sportacus spotted a bright pink flower and immediately picked it for Stephanie along with two purples ones, one for Ella and another for...later.  
  
"She managed to lock herself in the principal's office her first day of kindergarten," Robbie explained flatly, "she wouldn't come out until I got there and threatened to throw away her favorite tutu."  
  
Sportacus laughed at the thought of Robbie threatening his own daughter with something as drastic as a tutu. Rather than get defensive, Robbie joined in on the laughter, that story being one of his funnier, fonder memories of Ella as a young child.  
  
"I think I did something like that when I was younger," Sportacus hummed thoughtfully, "I was a pretty big troublemaker."  
  
"A troublemaker?" Robbie scoffed, "don't make me laugh, Sporta-dweeb."  
  
"I was, I swear!" Sportacus cried, "When I was little in Iceland, a few of my classmates decided it would be funny to replace my lunch with raw fish -- so I locked them in an abandoned classroom."  
  
Robbie laughed in disbelief, "That's pretty hardcore of you. Did they die, are you a child murderer -- no, two children child murderers in a trenchcoat."  
  
"That would be interesting," Sportacus chuckled, "the janitor found them and they told the principal, but I only got detention for it, so I think it was worth it."  
  
"Revenge is always worth it," Robbie grinned, "especially when it involves assholes like that."  
  
"Don't let Ella hear you say that, she might get ideas." Sportacus teased, nudging Robbie with his elbow.  
  
Robbie shoved him back playfully, doing his best to make him lose his balance, but only managed to nudge him slightly. It seemed to become a game of push-and-shove, the men nudging each other while they continued down the trail.  
  
The teasing stopped suddenly when they reached a slight incline on the trail, where Sportacus nudged Robbie for a final time. This caused Robbie to lose his footing, trip over his own feet, and tumble towards the shallow ditch at the bottom.  
  
"Robbie!" Sportacus shouted, following after the tumbling man, trying desperately to keep his footing while also moving as fast as he could.  
  
The slope was relatively short, thankfully, so Robbie found himself crumbled in the ditch only after a few seconds. While he was mostly uninjured, as far as he could tell, he didn't move from the soggy bed of the ditch, still in shock over falling.  
  
Sportacus stumbled and jumped into the ditch a moment later, then crouched by Robbie and pulled him into a sitting position.  
  
"Robbie, I am so sorry," Sportacus fretted, checking the man over for injuries, "I didn't mean to push you so hard!"  
  
"You're fine," Robbie said, grunting when the other man touched a sore spot on his back, "I keep forgetting that you're a million times stronger than me."  
  
Sportacus didn't respond, still focused on checking Robbie for any injuries, looking overly concerned and worried. He pressed a spot on Robbie's forehead, making the disgruntled man wince and hiss in slight pain.  
  
"Sorry," Sportacus apologized softly, "you've got a cut on your head. It doesn't look very deep, but we should definitely clean it."  
  
"With what?" Robbie snorted, not really concerned about such a minor injury. He had dealt with far worse without even batting an eye.  
  
"Stephanie has a first aid kit in her purse," Sportacus answered, "I like her to be prepared."  
  
"I'm sure you do." Robbie chuckled, moving to stand up, only to have Sportacus stop him.  
  
"Here, let me help you." Sportacus offered, suddenly scooping Robbie into his arms, bridal-style.  
  
Robbie yelped when he was suddenly being held by the athletic man, making him both simultaneously flustered and angry.  
  
"This is completely unnecessary," Robbie griped, though he didn't bother to struggle, "it's just a little cut, my legs are fine!"  
  
"Are you complaining about an opportunity to be lazy?" Sportacus asked with a teasing smile.  
  
Robbie kept his mouth shut after that.  
  
Sportacus deviated from the trail and to cut through the forest, claiming to know a shortcut. Robbie probably would have gotten lost taking the detour, but Sportacus seemed familiar enough with it to walk through it with practiced and precise ease. Not even a minute later, they broke through the trees, coming out directly behind the playground.  
  
Robbie was grateful that the park wasn't crowded, not sure that he would have been able to handle the embarrassment of being seen carried by Sportacus.  
  
"Stephanie!" Sportacus called out to his daughter, "I need your first aid kit!"  
  
"Seriously, it's not a big deal." Robbie grumbled stubbornly, watching Stephanie and Ella running over to their fathers with matching confused expressions.  
  
"Your wellbeing is a big deal to me, Robbie." Sportacus said quietly, with absolute sincerity.  
  
Next thing Robbie knew, he was being seated in one of the swings on the swingset, Sportacus applying antiseptic to the bleeding cut on his forehead while the two girls watched.  
  
Stephanie seemed concerned, but Ella displayed more indifference than anything else.  
  
"It takes a special kind of stupid to get hurt on a nature trail." Ella said with a smug half-smile.  
  
"He pushed me!" Robbie said in defense.  
  
"Really, dad?" Stephanie asked Sportacus, sounding like an unamused mother instead of a nine-year-old girl.  
  
Sportacus shrugged, looking guilty, " I don't know my own strength."  
  
"Clearly." Robbie muttered darkly.  
  
Sportacus pulled a bandage from the first-aid kit, the whole length covered in tiny, pink, Hello Kitty faces. Ella snickered, but Robbie ignored the girl, not in the mood to be embarrassed over a stupid bandage.  
  
With the bandage pressed over the cut, Sportacus repacked the kit and handed it back to Stephanie.  
  
"My hero." Robbie muttered blandly.  
  
Sportacus chuckled and placed a hand on Robbie's knee comfortingly, for no other reason than he was a touch-oriented person and it seemed like the right thing to do. He then suddenly remembered the flowers he had tucked into his belt loop earlier and quickly checked to see if they were still intact. The pink and first purple flower had fallen, but the second purple one remained.  
  
He plucked it from his waistband and presented it to Robbie, tucking it behind his ear with a small smile. Robbie blushed and stared back with wide eyes, hand fluttering to his ear where Sportacus' hand had brushed his skin.  
  
"Crisis averted, now let's pretend that this never happened and move on with our lives." Robbie declared loudly, jumping up from the tiny swing quickly, trying to make his obvious blush go away.  
  
"What are you talking about? Did something happen?" Stephanie asked with a grin.  
  
Robbie smirked, "Smart girl."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


 


	9. Chapter 9

Everything had been perfect.  
  
At least, as perfect as things could be.  
  
So, really, it made sense that Robbie would find a way to ruin it.   
  
It started out unexpectedly. just a few days before school started for Ella and Stephanie. Obviously, Stephanie was far more excited than Ella was about the whole situation.  
  
While the summer in their new home had gone exceptionally well, Ella was left borderline terrified of the new school year. Robbie began to grow concerned, having never seen his daughter so anxious before.  
  
"What are you so scared of?" Robbie asked one day while he helped the girl gather school supplies at the local supermarket, "Seriously, I'd appreciate an explanation other than 'I don't know, stop asking.'."  
  
The entire shopping ordeal took a lot longer than expected, considering that Ella refused to pick anything that wasn't a shade of purple. Robbie wasn't alone, though, Sportacus having gone through the same situation with Stephanie and warning the other man of the dilemma to come.  
  
"You wouldn't understand." Ella snpped, angrily tossing a purple pencil case into the shopping cart.  
  
"Try me." Robbie challenged, stopping the cart in the middle of the aisle to stare down his daughter.  
  
Ella sighed in aggravation, displaying the pure essence of angst-filled preteen with her hunched shoulders and annoyed glare.  
  
"Nobody likes the new kid," Ella began angrily, "I don't know anyone there, except that geek kid, who I'm pretty sure doesn't like me anyway. Because I'm the   
new girl."  
  
Robbie knew Ella had trouble making friends. Even before the divorce, she was shy, having only two friends that she talked to on a regular basis. He understood, having been a shy child himself, but it made him sad for the girl nonetheless.  
  
"Why don't you think of it as a new start?" Robbie suggested, putting the cart in motion again.  
  
"Like when we moved, some new start that was." Ella said bitterly.  
  
Robbie froze, "We moved for a reason Ella, you know that."  
  
"I lost my friends," Ella snapped back, "I liked it there."  
  
"We had to move, Ella--" Robbie began, trying to reason with the girl, but he was cut off before he could make his point.  
  
"More like _you_  had to move."  
  
Robbie found himself freezing again, not expecting such biting comments from his daughter, after so long of not exactly addressing the issue. But it wasn't like he could argue with her, because she wasn't wrong, not really.  
  
She was hitting every mark, while Robbie had nothing to hit back with.  
  
He sighed, any anger he might have had with the girl draining and leaving him with only exhaustion.  
  
"Do you really hate it here that much?" Robbie asked quietly, desperate to find some sort of silver lining to their plight.  
  
Ella had to take a moment to think, forehead scrunching up in a way that resembled her father's own mannerisms. While Ella was a practical clone of her mother, Robbie could see himself in her at times.  
  
"...I don't know," Ella finally admitted, voice devoid of her bitterness from earlier, replaced with a quiet tone of uncertain, "It's not bad, but I don't know if I like it. I keeping thinking we'll just go home one day or stay with uncle Glanni again."  
  
Robbie sighed heavily, his heart breaking while he watched Ella's lost, saddened expression. Maybe she did have the right to blame him - he had pretty much uprooted her life and tried to plant her somewhere foreign and see if she would grow again.  
  
"I'm sorry, Ella," Robbie apologized softly, "I didn't realize you were having such a tough time."  
  
Ella looked away and rubbed at her wet eyes, but didn't say a word.  
  
She stayed silent until they drove home, then locked herself in her room after.  
  
  
\- - - - - - - - - - -  
  
  
Stephanie had always loved the first day of school.  
  
She loved meeting her teachers, seeing her friends, and especially reacquainting herself with the glory that was the recess. She knew that, one day, she wouldn't be able to have recess when she got older, but the first day of third grade was not that day.  
  
The girl could barely contain herself when her teacher brought them to the playground, the older woman not even attempting to stop te children from sprinting full-speed past the fence. Stephanie ran faster and harder than any of her classmates, long legs and regular exercise working in her favor.   
  
Almost immediately, she was on the monkey bars, swinging from bar to bar with exciteable flair. She didn't even hear anyone coming up behind her, too cught up in pushing herself harder and faster towards her imagined finish line.  
  
"Hey, brat!" Came a voice behind her, making the girl realize she wasn't alone.  
  
Stephanie turned to look at whoever had shouted at her, met with the sight of three mean looking boys, who were very obviousl older than her.  
  
"Um...hi?" Stephanie said uncertainly, still dangling from one of the monkey bars.  
  
"Move," The shortest, meanest looking boy snapped, face twisting into an ugly scowl, "the monkey bars are ours."  
  
"No they aren't," Stephanie frowned, not moving from her dangling position, "they belong to the school."  
  
"We don't care, move before we make you." The tallest boy spat, taking on what he must have thought was a threatening stance.  
  
"But I just got here!" Stephanie frowned, stubbornly still hanging on the monkey bars, but with more stubbornness, "I'm not moving."  
  
Stephanie knew it wasn't the best idea, standing up to the older kids, but she wasn't about to let them bully her just because she was younger.   
  
They didn't respond, but the three boys were obviously enraged by Stephanie's defiance.  
  
Stephanie was about to continue paying by herself, ready to ignore the rude boys and enjoy recess, but she didn't get the chance. Before she could even turn to reach for the next bar, two hands grabbed both of her ankles and pulled, causing her to collapse onto the ground.  
  
If the pain of her scraped knees and elbows wasn't enough, one of the boys kicked a dirt pile in front of her face, sending the debris into her face. They walked away from her, laughing loudly and shoving eachother, basking in their own cruelty.  
  
Stephanie began to cry after she managed to sit up, tears mixing with the dirt on her face, creating muddy trails down her cheeks. She'd never had someone do something so mean to her, not even Trixie when she got into one of her darker moods.  
  
Stephanie didn't even wait until recess was over to leave the playground, choosing to sit beside her teacher instead. She then found bandaids sticking to her cleaned, scraped knees and a tissue in her clenched fist.  
  
A note was written and placed in her hand, with quiet instructions to give it to her dad when she got home.  
  
It all felt like a bad, bad dream.  
  
  
By the time the school bus dropped Stephanie off at the apartment complex, her tears had stopped, leaving her face dry and uncomfortable.  
  
But the bad feelings didn't go away, not even when she grabbed an apple from the kitchen counter and bit into it. In fact, it only made her realize that she wasn't hungry anymore.  
  
"Stephanie? Is that you?" Stephanie heard her dad call from down the hallway.  
  
She froze immediately, suddenly very afraid to talk about her disaster recess experience.  
  
"Y-Yeah, it's me." Stephanie called back shakily, voice cracking when she tried to keep it level.  
  
Sportacus seemed to realize something was wrong, walking into the front room almost immediately. One look at Stephanie's red, puffy eyed and scraped knees had the man kneeling by the girl, concern washing over his face.  
  
"What happened, Stephanie?" Sportacus asked quietly, staring the girl right in the eyes.  
  
If Stephanie could have cried, she would have burst into tears in her father's arms. But she couldn't form anymore tears, so she told Sportacus about the monkey bars, the bullies, and her scraped knees and hands.  
  
By the time, she finished retelling her horrible day, Sportacus' face had morphed into something enraged and almost unrecognizable. Stephanie would have been scared of her dad's sudden anger, but he seemed to realize his emotion was showing outwardly and quickly made himself appear calm, his nurturing nature returning in an instant.  
  
"I'm sorry that happened, Stephanie," Sportacus said softly, "I'll talk to the school tomorrow."  
  
"Thanks, dad," Stephanie sniffled, pulling away to smile at him, "I'm gonna go take a nap. I'm tired."  
  
Sportacus allowed the girl to leave the embrace and escape into her bedroom. His heart was heavy, shifting through so many emotions at once, his brain not knowing what to feel in that moment.  
  
His gut chose anger.  
  
He was angry at those boys for hurting his little girl, angry that no-one had stopped them or tried to help her. Most of all, though, he was angry at himself for letting it happen.  
  
There was nothing he coud have done to stop it, but that did't stop him from blaming himself.  
  
All he wanted was for Stephanie to be happy.  
  
\- - - - - - - - - - -  
  
In spite of his better judgment, Robbie had promised to stop by Sportacus' apartment when their daughters had returned from school.  
  
He wasn't about to admit it out loud, but Robbie found himself...wanting to be around Sportacus. It had been a long time since he had found himself wanting to be in someone's company longer than a few grueling seconds.  
  
As annoyingly cheerful as the accented man was, with his stupid, charming smile and weirdly pointy facial hair; Robbie actually liked Sportacus. It was almost too embarrassing to think about. So that was why he was putting in the effort to visit the man, purely out of his own good will.   
  
Or at least, that's what Robbie chose to tell himself. It sounded a hell of a lot better than 'I just want to see him'.  
  
Hesitantly, Robbie knocked on Sportacus' apartment door, mentally keeping himself grounded so that he wouldn't attempt to run away and hide away in his home, like he always did.  
  
When no-one answered, Robbie wondered idly if Sportacus had forgotten about him and their visit. The thought hurt more than expected, so he pushed it from his mind and chose to simply press forward. Sportacus hadn't given him any warning of cancelation, so Robbie wasn't about to jump to conclusions.  
  
Robbie tested the door-knob, finding it unlocked. Surely Sportacus wouldn't have left it that way if he wasn't expecting somone. The Icelandic man had let himself into Robbie's apartment many times in the past, so Robbie let himself inside after hesitating for a tense moment.  
  
The apartment was eerily silent, devoid of the usual warm, radiant energy that seemed to fill each and every room.  
  
Robbie spotted Sportacus in the living room, shoulders hunched with his eyes trained stubbornly on the carpet beneath his nervously tapping feet. Stephanie was nowhere to be seen.  
  
The man was silent and uncharacteristically still, the exact opposite of his usual energetic composure. Robbie began to grow concerned, but wasn't entirely sure how to express it.  
  
"Hey there, Sporta-nut," Robbie called in his usual snarky, sarcastic tone, "hope you didn't forget about me."  
  
Sportacus said nothing. No amused smile, no laughter or creative rebuttal - nothing. His slow, shifting eyes were the only sign that he had heard Robbie. It was out of character and concerning, making Robbie wonder what had happened to put the man in such a dark mood.  
  
"Who shit in your organic oatmeal?" Robbie teased, instead of actually voicing his concern like a fucking adult.  
  
Again, Sportacus said nothing, but he did look up and shrug half-heartedly. Robbie began to lose patience.   
  
Robbie was never one to comfort people in times of hardship, especially when he didn't know what was wrong. He was adamant on making Sportacus acknowledge him and pull some form of emotion from him, even if it meant annoying him.  
  
"C'mon, you can't ignore me forever." Robbie sighed, taking a seat beside the other man on the couch, making sure to take up a much of his personal space as possible. He would make himself be seen, dammit.  
  
"I'm not ignoring you." Sportacus said quietly, so quietly that Robbie barely even heard him. But in the silence of the apartment, it wasn't hard to pick up on his hushed, defeated tone.  
  
"Ah! He speaks!" Robbie cheered, "Thank god you're not doing some hippy-dippy vow of silence, that would be so boring. I think I'd prefer you talking about your cardio routines."  
  
Sportacus simply nodded, not really hearing him, but it was still a reaction, nonetheless.  
  
"So what's got you all dark and brooding today?" Robbie asked, finally voicing his concern, "I thought you'd be excited over Pinky's first day of school."  
  
"I was..." Sportacus admitted quietly, keeping his eyes stubbornly fixed on his fidgeting hands.  
  
"Then what happened to get you all upset?" Robbie pressed, barely noticing the way Sportacus' shoulders tensed.  
  
"I dont--"  
  
"Did aliens invade the school?"  
  
"No, Robbie, I--"  
  
"What about the mafia?" Robbie guessed again, racking his brain for more ridiculous scenarious that might cheer the other man up, "Is your little pink hurricane being held for ransom?"  
  
Sportacus didn't say anything, but Robbie was determined to get a reaction out of him, good or bad. Silent and cold, Sportacus was unsettling on far too many levels.  
  
"Oh, I know," Robbie grinned, "Pinky is actually a cyborg whose main objective is to destroy mankind--"  
  
The next moment happened to fast for either man to comprehend or prevent.  
  
"Will you just stop?!" Sportacus shouted suddenly, his voice loud and biting as he jumped up from the couch. He loom over Robbie, breathing heavily as his bottled up frustration finally released itself into his boiling blood.  
  
But any sense of anger faded when he realized that Robbie was trembling beneath him. His hands shook almost violently as he covered his face, as if trying to protect himself.  
  
As if he were expecting to be hit.  
  
Between the gaps in Robbie's long fingers, Sportacus could see the man's silver eyes - wide, terrified, and unseeing past an invisible demon.  
  
"Robbie...?" Sportacus said uncertainly, unsure of what to do to help Robbie.  
  
Tentatively, he reached out to touch Robbie's shoulder to try and bring him back to realiy in anyway that he could. Before his hand could make contact, though, it was slapped away by the other man.  
  
"Don't!" Robbie snapped harshly though gritted teeth. "don't fucking touch me!"  
  
Sportacus backed away quickly, both scared and concered b the terrified, feral look in Robbie's eyes. His breathing was ragged and uneven as he got to his feet and stumbled back. He barely looked up when he made his way toward the front door with frenzied, twitching movements.  
  
"Robbie!" Sportacus called out in desperation, though he didn't dare follow after the man, "please, don't leave, I'm sorry!"  
  
Robbie didn't even look back as he slammed the door behind himself.  
  
"Dad...?"  
  
Sportacus turned around to look at Stephanie, who had finally emerged from her room, roused from her nap by the commotion.  
  
"I heard someone yell, what happened?" Stephanie asked, eyes drawn together with concern.  
  
"I...don't know, Stephanie." Sportacus answered honestly.  
  
Whatever it was, though, it couldn't have been anything good.  
  
  
  


 


	10. Chapter 10

Ella's first day at her new school had surprisingly been...decent. Not amazing, by any means, but not horrible, either. She certainly wasn't overjoyed to have been stuck in a new place, surrounded by new people, who didn't even seem to notice her. But, really, not being seen was better than being seen as a target.  
  
She was comforted by the fact that she would have been in a new building anyway, even if she hadn't moved away from home. Seeing that she wasn't the only confused, intimidated 6th grader stumbling around the middle school put one of her fears to rest.  
  
On top of that, Ella was surprised to find that the nerdy tech-kid was more than happy to introduce her to his table of friends at lunch, telling his friends without hesitation that she was 'pretty cool'. This was pretty shocking to the girl, considering that Ella had been fairly certain that he thought she was weird.  
  
All in all, Ella had been through worse days.  
  
Far, far worse.  
  
The day ended and Ella was content, several of her fears put to rest by the somewhat decent day. When she got home, Ella greeted her dad before tucking herself away in her room.  
  
Her fingers found the key on her favorite music box, twisting and twisting, then releasing and allowing the soft, twinkling melody to fill her room and wash over her in a gentle wave.  
  
She fell back onto her unmaid, messy bed, sighing and closing her eyes.  
  
It had been a good day.

 

  
  
_SLAM_

 

  
  
Ella jolted awake when the walls vibrated with the sound of the front door being slammed open. She stayed still, clutching her blankets, wondering if she had simply dreamed the loud noise. But the sounds of thundering footsteps and some sort of choked breathing proved her wrong.  
  
Something crashed down the hallway, near the bathroom, making Ella jump up from her bed to investigate the unnerving, chaotic noises.  
  
She peered down the hallway from inside the safety of her room, keeping her body hidden in case someone had broken in and was in the process of destorying the apartment, maybe killing her father.  
  
Fortunately, the hallway lacked a gruesome murderer down the hallway, so Ella deemed it somewhat safe to quietly walk to the bathroom to continue her investigation.  
  
She half-expected to find something gruesome and horrifying in the bathroom based on the sounds she had heard -- heavy, broken wheezing mixed with the choked sobs of some form of anguish.  
  
But, instead, she found her father, physically unscathed, crumpled in a heap on the bathroom floor. He shook violently, struggling to breathe past the sobs attacking his body.  
  
Ella recognized it immediately as one of Robbie's panic attacks, something she had only seen happen once before, many months ago.  
  
It was when her mom had left, nearly a year ago. It seemed so recent, yet somehow a liftetime away.  
  
The attack didn't seem to be as bad as it had been then, but Ella was just as clueless as she had been the first time, maybe even more so, considering there was no obvious reason for panic that Ella knew of. Robbie didn't even seem to realize his daughter was standing over him, his eyes too glassy and far away to see anything in front of him.  
  
Ella kneeled down onto the tile and slowly moved closer to her dad, thinking she could maybe bring him back to reality. Her hand reached out, carefully making contact with his trembling shoulder.  
  
She didn't realize, or remember, that touching was probably a bad idea.  
  
Almost instantaneosly, Robbie shouted and shrank back, knocking Ella to the floor on his blind panic to get away. Ella fell back onto her elbows, staring at her tembling father a shock. The shock, though, was quickly replaced by rage.  
  
Scrambling to get off of the tile flooor, Ella glared down at Robbie, resisting the strong urge to kick him as hard as she could.  
  
"What's wrong with you?!" Ella shouted angrily, voice shrill and deafening in the small bathroom, making Robbie flinch, "You won't even let me _help_ you! What kind of dad are you?"  
  
Robbie didn't respond, shrinking in on himself and covering his face in a mixture of fear and shame, making Ella even more angry. Before anymore harsh words could spill from her mouth, Ella turned on her heel and stomped out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

-  
  
Robbie had always been adament about leaving the past behind him. Nothing good ever happened when he let his past haunt him. It might not have been the best way to handle his issues, but it kept him sane - for the most part.  
  
Deep down, though, he knew his past would find him. He never knew when or how, but the uneasy feeling remained within him, whispering dark things to him on sleepless nights.  
  
Robbie had been ready to move on wit his life, forget his past, and rebuild his small, broken family.  
  
But things were never that simple.  
  
Out of all people, Sportacus was the last person Robbie expected to lose his temper. He was so warm and patient, it was impossible to imagine him being angry over anything. So when Sportacus snapped, Robbie was too shocked to think, his learned instincts kicking in and leaving him tembling, terrified.  
  
Buried memories drowned him, choking him so he couldn't breathe. Sportacus hadn't even hit him, but Robbie's body kicked into autopilot, expecting a punch or slap at any moment.  
  
When a gentle hand came out to touch him, Robbie panicked and slapped it away. He could feel a panic attack beginning to swallow him -- touching only made it worse.  
  
He had to get out befoe Sportacus could witness him falling apart.  
  
"Don't!" Robbie snapped through his clecnhed jaw, "Don't touch me - dont fucking touch me!"  
  
It was growing hard to breathe, fear wrapping it's hands around his throat and squeezing the life from him. He was on his feet and out the door in seconds, not looking back when Sportacus called out to him.  
  
It was a miracle that he didn't get himself killed stumbling down the apartment stairs. He somehow managed to make it to his own apartment, but it was all a blur.  
  
His stomach was in knots, his insids twisted and tangled -- he wanted to throw up, remove the filth inside of him before it killed him. Robbie slumped onto the bathrooom floor, heaving with heavy sobs.  
  
He had tried so hard to leave the past behind him.  
  
But there it was, clawing at his back, leaving him bloody and tembling on the bathroom floor. Or maybe it was his fingernails digging into his wrists that brought on the blood, he couldn't tell.  
  
"You're so pathetic!" Robbie heard through the fog.  
  
They were right. He was pathetic.  
  
  
-  
  
  
Days passed without a word from Robbie.  
  
The first few days were understandable, Sportacus knowing Robbie needed space after the whole incident. Sportacus was still worried and horribly guilty, even if he had yet to understand where it had all gone wrong.  
  
He had been angry and impatient, he knew that much. Robbie had tried using his odd sense of humor to cheer him up, but it didn't work and Sportacus had...snapped.  
  
Seeing the fear on Robbie's face worried Sportacus to no end, leaving so many questions behind after he had run away from him.  
  
Why would Robbie ever think that Sportacus would hit him? Sportacus could never live with the guilt of hitting anyone, especially Robbie. There was far more history behind Robbie's reaction than what could be seen with the naked eye - history that Robbie had kept secret for who knows how long.  
  
Sportacus wanted to talk to Robbie, apologize and maybe hug him. But after an entire week of not seeing the man, Sportacus was certain Robbie was avoiding him and didn't want to see him.  
  
Maybe Sportacus deserved it, but that didn't make it hurt any less.  


-

 

Stephanie caught on very quickly to Sportacus' guilt-ridden sadness, putting two and two together after she hadn't seen Robbie near his father for a few days. Curious, she asked Ella if she had known what had happened between their fathers, but the older only knew that it had left her own dad in a mess on their bathroom floor.  
  
Stephanie hated seeing her dad sad, it was like a chain reaction - if Sportacus wasn't happy, then nobody was happy.  
  
Stephanie was determined to find a way to help.  
  
Filled with determination, Stephanie ventured to Robbie's apartment, ready to argue and bicker until a solution was found. She knocked on the apartment door, then knocked again when their wasn't an answer.  
  
She kept knocking and waiting until it was obvious she wouldn't be getting an answer, despite someone very obviously being home. The girl sighed in frustration, the lack of answer only making her more determined to talk to Robbie. She tested the doorknob, pleased to find it unlocked.  
  
She knew it was rude to enter people's homes unnanounced, but Stephanie didn't care in that moment, too focused on fixing what had been broken.  
  
"Robbie!" Stephanie called, "I know you're home!"  
  
Down the hallway, Stephanie could hear frantic shuffling, followed by muffled, angry cursing. Robbie then stumbled out of his office, looking horribly dishevled with his tangled hair and rumbled pajamas. The girl would have brushed it off as him having just woken up, but the dark bruises painted beneath his eyes told a different story.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Robbie hissed, stalking forward to tower over the girl, "how did you get in?"  
  
"The door was unlocked," Stephanie shrugged, "I came to talk to you."  
  
A sneer twisted onto Robbie's lip, "No offense, brat, but I have nothing to talk about, especially to a kid. So, you need to leave."  
  
"Not until you listen to me." Stephanie shot back stubbornly.  
  
"I'm not afraid to file a restraining order aganst a nine-year-old." Robbie growled, withering glare focused entirely on the girl before him.  
  
"What's a restraining order?" Stephanie asked with an innocent tilt of her head and slight furrow of her brow, not the least bit fazed by Robbie's threatening expression.  
  
It would have been cute if it weren't for the fact that she was getting on Robbie's nerves.  
  
"You're going to find out if you don't stop bugging me," He snapped in response, turning his heel and stomping away from the girl.  
  
But instead of finding peace and quiet in his office, Robbie found the little pink hurricane jumping in front of him and standing before him defiantly. She stared up at him, dead-set on getting the answers she wanted.  
  
"Are you and my dad fighting?" Stephanie asked, "because he's sad and won't tell me why, then he gets even more sad whenever I mention you, so you must be fighting."  
  
"Good deduction skills, Sherlock," Robbie sneered sarcastically, "we aren't fighting, I just don't want to talk to him."  
  
"Why not?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Because I don't want to."  
  
Stephanie let out a huff of air, clearly frustrated with Robbie's evasive efforts. But she wasn't about to give up.  
  
"Are you lying? I know you're lying." Stephanie said matter-of-factly, "I know because I talked to Ella."  
  
Robbie paused involunetarily, "What did she tell you?"  
  
Ella hadn't spoken to him since the panic attack in the bathroom, expertly avoiding him and adding to the dark pit that had formed in his stomach over the past week. Whatever she had told Stephanie, it couldn't have painted him in a good light. Not that it was ever a possibility.  
  
"She said you don't like to talk when you're upset, but not talking just makes everthing worse," Stephanie explained, "so you won't feel better until you talk to my dad."  
  
While there was no mention of the bathroom incident, Stephanie's words still managed to piss Robbie off. He wanted to yell at her and force her out of the apartment, but her words sank in and made him realize...she was right. It pissed him off to no end that the girl was forcing her way into his life to try and solve a problem of his, when he'd usuallly just ignore it until it stopped bothering him.  
  
Robbie grew quiet, staring down at his bare feet, feeling somewhat lost and uneasy. Stephanie seemed to realize that she had struck a chord, quickly dropping her stubborness to try a different, kinder approach.  
  
"Please, Robbie?" Stephanie said quietly, "my dad is really upset. You don't look too good, either, I know you're upset, too."  
  
Robbie sighed heavily and rubbed at his dry, tired eyes. Why did the stupid girl have to be right?  
  
"Fine," Robbie finally gave in, "I'll take to your stupid, sad dad. I might punch his stupid, pouty face in, but I'll talk to him."  
  
Stephanie smiled widely, "As long as you talk to him, I'll pretend I didn't hear that last part."  
  
Robbie snickered, sticking out a hand to shake the girl's hand, his hand all but consuming her small, petite palm. Nevertheless, the handshake was firm and finalizing.  
  
"It's a deal, Pinky."  
  
-  
  
Stephanie was very adamant on taking Robbie to Sportacus as soon as possible, while Robbie was mentally listing every possible excuse he could make to back out of the situation. But when Stephanie all but chased him up the stairs and cornered him in front of the door(with Ella's help, of course.) he found himself running out of ways to get out of talking to her father.  
  
"I'm going, I'm going!" Robbieshouted, trying to shoo the girl away when she started poking him, "go somewhere else, I don't need you breathing down my neck!"  
  
"I had to make sure you wouldn't run away," Stephanie said with a teasing smile, "but I planned on going to the park with Ella, anyway."  
  
"So why are you still here?" Robbie grumbled, crossing his arm over his chest and glaring at the girl.  
  
Stephanie raised her hands in surrender, backing away, then turning to skip down the stairs, happy that her work was done. She ran out of sight from the apartment complex, leaving Robbie alone.  
  
He could already feeling his anxiety crawling and thrashing in his chest, making him twitch nervously as he stared at the apartment door.  
  
Over and over his hand came up to knock on the door, but dropped back to his side when Robbbie couldn't muster to do so.  
  
He hated not being able to talk to Sportacus, but what else was he supposed to do? He could barely talked about what happened withoout wanting to collpase in on himself and decay from the inside out.  
  
So, really ,what was the point? Sportacus would want to know what had really happened and Robbie knew he wouldn't be able to give a real answer. He couldn't go back and make things normal again, so there wasn't a point in even trying.  
  
Just as the man was about to turn and run away from the issue, the dooor opened very suddenly, revealing the person he had been avoiding.  
  
Sportacus jumped when he saw Robbie standing right out of his front door. He had already accepted that Robbie wouldn't be speaking to him for awhile - So why was he waiting on his door step?  
  
Seeing Robbie standing there, looking nervous and on the verge of bolting, was a surprise, to say the least.  
  
"Robbie!" Sportacus said in surprise, probably a bit too loud based on how Robbie flinched, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I-I was just leaving," Robbie stuttered out, his fingers and lips twichting, "I've gotta go."  
  
Robbie turned to leave, ready to lock himself in his bedroom and have his anxiety attack in peace. But Sportacus' hand shot out to stop him, gripping the man's shoulder gently with enough firmness to keep him from moving.  
  
"Please don't leave, Robbie," Sportacus pleaded softly, "I've missed you."  
  
That hit Robbie directly in the heart, make his cheeks reden and his hands shake. People never missed him, in fact, they were glad to be rid of him.  
  
He almost wanted to cry from the rush of affection that overtook him, tears stinging his eyes. But he quickly rubbed his eyes dry and croaked out some form of a reply.  
  
"Don't be stupid," Robbie managed to choke out, "It's only been a few days, maybe I enjoy being alone."  
  
Sportacus' face fell slightly, but he quickly reminded himself that Robbie was talking to him and that he should be grateful for each and every word.  
  
"I thought you might want to be alone," Sportacus said with a small, guilty smile, "I wanted to apologize for what-"  
  
"Stop right there," Robbie interrupted, placing a finger to Sportacus' lips to silence him, "One, I don't want to hear a single apology out of you. Two, I don't want to talk about what happened, so don't even think about mentioning it. I want to go back to normal, understand?"  
  
Sportacus stared at Robbie for a moment, taking in his tired, dissevled appearence. While Robbie looked tired most of the time, that day was the worst the other man had seen him.  
  
As much as Sportacus wanted to tlak through what had happened, he couldn't push Robbie any farther than he already had, for fear of him shutting him out for good.  
  
"I understand, Robbie." Sportacus nodded, pulling Robbie's hand away from his mouth to speeze it comfortingly.  
  
One day, he would talk with Robbie and help him through whatever haunted him. But in that moment, he was content with simply being close to him. Talking could come later.  
  
  
  
  
  


 


	11. Chapter 11

Robbie was an expert at ignoring his own problems. He had a lifetime of experience, afterall.  
  
Time after time, he had fallen apart, had broken into jagged pieces and time after time, he would piece himself back together. Bit by bit, Robbie gathered what had crumbled and placed them wherever they could fit, then continue on with his life as if nothing had happened.  
  
But that fact didn't bother Robbie, not really, he'd grown accustomed to it over the years. After awhile he learned to roll with the punches. Most of his problems were of his own doing, anyway, so it only made logical sense for him to bear them in solitude.  
  
By his own choosing, Robbie lived his life without acknowledging the demons that plagued his mind.  
  
But when it came to other people, it was a whole different story.  
  
As much as Robbie hated it and wished he wasn't, he was a compassionate person. This clashed with his general hatred of people, so it really only applied to a select few people. But the compassion was there, nonetheless.  
  
The fact of the matter was that Robbie cared for Sportacus, far more than he was comfortable or familiar with. He had forced his way into Robbie's secluded, lonely life and made a place there, invading and destroying what the man had made normal for himself.  
  
So when Sportacus had something bothering him, Robbie's stupid, compassionate heart suffered along with him.  
  
Robbie's first step for returning to normal was forcing Sportacus to confide in him about whatever had caused his concerning outburst, while also ignoring his equally concerning reaction. This followed his usual pattern of him burying hid own problems in favor of tackling another issue.  
  
Sportacus was more than happy to invite Robbie inside, but it wasn't long before the other man had him cornered with nowhere to go.  
  
"So, do you want to tell me what happened the other day?" Robbie asked, eyeing Sportacus sternly, the question phrased more as a command than anything else.  
  
"Which part?" Sportacus asked nervously.  
  
"The part that had you all dark and broody," Robbie elaborated with a vague gesture in the man's direction, "not the best look on you, Mr. Sunshine."  
  
The nickname made Sportacus laugh, despite the lingering guilt and tension still plaguing him from the other day. He still regretted allowing himself to get so angry when he cold have easily calmed himself and focused on going about the issue rationally, which he eventually did do. But his initial reaction? His anger had controlled him, something that hadn't been an issue for him since he was younger.  
  
Sportacus sighed and frowned up at Robbie, who was still towering over him stubbornly. He wouldn't be getting out of the situation easily.  
  
"When Stephanie came home from school," Sportacus began quietly, but steadily, "she was upset and hurt. She told me that a group of boys pulled her off of the monkey bars and kicked dirt into her face.  
  
It just made me so mad that anyone would hurt such a sweet girl. I kept thinking about my own school days and I was scared the same thing would happen to her."  
  
Robbie was silent for a moment while he digested the information, face lined deeply with concern, along with hints of anger and annoyance.  
  
"I really fucking hate kids sometimes," Robbie muttered darkly, "especially the shitty brats that think they're entitled to making others miserable."  
  
Sportacus could tell Robbie spoke from experience, it was one of the few things they had in common. Robbie stepped back a few steps, satisfied with Sportacus' honesty, instead of him darting around the issue like he had expected him to.  
  
"So, what happened to those little shits?" Robbie asked, "Dead in a ditch, I hope."  
  
Sportacus laughed softly, shaking his head, "No, no, I called Stephanie's teacher and asked her to talk to the boys and their parents, maybe get them to apologize."  
  
Robbie rolled his eyes and snorted, "That's awfully boring and diplomatic of you."  
  
"Well, what would you have done?" Sportacus asked in a teasing tone.  
  
"The term 'curb-stomp' comes to mind." Robbie hummed with a dark smirk.  
  
Sportacus wasn't sure whether he should have laughed or not at such a violent joke, even if it was just a poke. Robbie chuckled at Sportacus' dumbfounded expression, poking one of his cheeks teasingly.  
  
"Then again, that's not really your style," Robbie chuckled, "you're a big softie, so I see you more as a 'poison and run' type of guy."  
  
The shorter of the two couldn't help but roll his eyes and laugh softly, "Is there a non-violent option?"  
  
"Not when I'm around," Robbie grinned wolfishly, "I'm the villain to your hero."  
  
The cheesy line made Sportacus laugh. He was no hero, not by a long shot, but he didn't voice those thoughts, not willing to dampen the playful mood of their conversation.  
  
"Whatever you say, Mr. Villain." Sportacus grinned.  
  
-  
  
"Is your dad a vampire?"  
  
The sudden question made Ella stop what she doing, ready to look over and snap at whoever thought it was okay to ask such a stupid question.  
  
That day, Ella had decided that she didn't want to be anywhere near her dad after his week-long mope fest. Especially not after his freakout in the bathroom, she really just didn't want to deal with him after that. Thankfully, Stephanie was more than happy to invite the other girl to play in the treehouse with the rest of their friends.  
  
Ella was thankful, of course, but her unease never seemed to leave, only ever dissipating when she wasn’t thinking about it. Stephanie swore up and down that she was a part of their group, their friend, Ella couldn't help but feel out of place, like a poorly attached limb.  
  
She knew better than to voice this, though. Honesty only caused trouble. So, she played the role of a normal girl until she would eventually be abandoned and everything would unravel, like all good things did.  
  
"Do you seriously think Robbie is a vampire, Ziggy?" Trixie asked, shooting a teasing, annoyed look at the naive boy.  
  
"A little." Ziggy replied softly, cheeks burning with embarrassment when everyone turned to stare at him.  
  
Ella wrinkled her nose at the boy. To think that anyone could be scared of her dad was a laughable idea, even if said person was an easily-scared little kid. He was like a lazy cat with a bad attitude, not a scary vampire with a thirst for a sticky child's blood.  
  
"I mean, it's plausible," Pixel piped up, already fidgeting with his fancy computer-watch, "Robbie does show all classic signs of vampirism. Nocturnal sleeping patterns, aversion to sunlight, pale skin -- it's all there!"  
  
"You can't be serious," Ella dead-panned, wondering why the oldest of the group was entertaining such a stupid idea, "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."  
  
"That's the fun part of science, there's new things to discover, you never know until you test it, Ella!" Pixel grinned, eyes scanning over the information he had pulled up on his watch.  
  
"Pixel's right, we need to perform spearmints!" Ziggy declared, eyes lighting up with excitement and determination.  
  
"Do you mean experiments?" Stingy asked.  
  
"That's what I said."  
  
In unison, Trixie and Ella face palmed, both girls barely believing what was happening right in front of them.  
  
"Sorry to burst your little scientific bubble," Ella spoke up, "but I would prefer to not have my dad become a lab rat, if it's all the same to you two. I don't want to deal with the side-effects of your 'experiments' -- he's a pain enough as it is."  
  
"Don't worry, Ella, I'll keep it purely observational," Pixel said, too far-gone to even consider stopping, "I'll even report our findings to you at school, if you want."  
  
Ella didn't exactly hate the idea if it meant she could still sit with Pixel and his nerd friends at lunch, but that didn't make it any less stupid.  
  
"Fine," Ella relented, rolling her eyes in disbelief, "go knock yourselves out."  
  
Pixel and Ziggy both grinned excitedly, high-fiving each other before scrambling to leave the treehouse. After they made their way down the ladder, Trixie sighed in frustration and began to follow after.  
  
"I'll go make sure they don't get themselves killed." The girl grumbled, grabbing a butterfly net from their toy chest before disappearing down the ladder.  
  
"Hey! That's mine!" Stingy shrieked, practically throwing himself out of the treehouse to chase after Trixie and reclaim the net that probably wasn't even his.  
  
This left Ella and Stephanie alone in the treehouse, not that either minded. It did tend to feel crowded when everyone came together all at once, so two people was perfect, spacial wise. Ella enjoyed the quiet, while Stephanie enjoyed spending time alone with the other girl -- it worked out surprisingly well.  
  
But Pixel and Ziggy's talk of Robbie possibly being a vampire had Stephanie thinking -- not about vampires, though, obviously. Stephanie knew that Robbie and her dad were on better terms after she had all but forced the man to work through their issues, but that didn't mean everything was okay. There was still something wrong, Stephanie could sense it.  
  
"Hey, Ella?" Stephanie said after a few moments of consideration, not about to jump into the conversation without having something sense of what she really wanted to say.  
  
"Hm?" Ella looked away from the treehouse window, where she had been quietly lost in her own thoughts. She hoped Stephanie hadn't asked anything important without her hearing it.  
  
"Is...Is Robbie okay?" Stephanie asked hesitantly, not sure if bringing it up was a good idea anymore.  
  
The question caught Ella off guard, making her frown at her younger friend. She had to take a moment to sift through her mind for a proper response that didn't come off as rude or mean.  
  
"Why do you want to know?" She asked slowly, eyes carefully trained on the girl, as if they could see inside of her head if they focused hard enough.  
  
"Well, I convinced him to talk to my dad, right?" Stephanie said, to which Ella nodded, "but I don't know what happened to make them fight, all I know is that he didn't look okay when we talked. I would have asked him, but I was too focused on making my dad happy again."  
  
It had only dawned on Stephanie that Robbie wasn't okay after she had forced him up to her apartment door. It had left a bad feeling in her gut, making her desperate to find a solution.  
  
"You know my dad is weird, Stephanie," Ella sighed, "he's all messed up, trying to figure out what's wrong with him will just give you a headache."  
  
Stephanie shrugged, feeling uncertain, but still determined nonetheless, "I'm sure you're right, but what about last week? When Robbie and Sportacus got into that fight?"  
  
"You heard the fight, not me." Ella said stubbornly.  
  
"But what about after?" Stephanie pressed, "please, Ella? All you've told me is that he was upset -- I already knew that!"  
  
Ella was very obviously getting frustrated with Stephanie's questioning and for a moment it seemed as if she was a moment away from snapping and running away. But as seconds passed, the girl visually calmed, fighting her own fight or flight response.  
  
"I don't know what happened to cause it," Ella began with a defeated sigh, but dad came home and fell apart in the bathroom, I'm pretty sure he was having a panic attack."  
  
Stephanie's eyes immediately widened in both shock and concern. She had witnessed very few panic attacks, mostly from Pixel due to his own anxiety, but she knew how awful they could be. It made her sad to think that Robbie had suffered through something like that.  
  
"He hasn't had one since my mom left," Ella continued quietly, "it's really scary, he acts like a scared animal, he's a completely different person."  
  
"That's awful..." Stephanie said softly, "no wonder he's been acting so different."  
  
"Not that different," Ella murmured, her tone slightly bitter, "he's always moody, I can only put up with him for so long."  
  
Once again, Ella seemed to grow frustrated, her brow furrowed and lips turned down into a stern frown. There were so many things going on within her mind, all of her guilt and anger clashing with each other, leaving her confused and frustrated, unable to express it properly.   
  
"What do you mean?" Stephanie asked, her supporting side kicking in and leaving her with the strong urge to help Ella sort through her obvious frustration.  
  
"He's--He's a mess, Stephanie!" Ella cried throwing her hands up, "he's always angry, upset, tired, grouchy -- I can't deal with it! I don't know what his issue is! I don't know how to help him!"  
  
Frustration bled into anger, a sour taste arriving along with it. Her dad was a mess, the move to Lazytown making it all the more obvious as she was juggled between homes and finally was left alone with him and his never-ending mysterious issues. She had tried to help him, but it only left her angry and bitter at her own father for being a puzzle she couldn't crack.  
  
While Ella's thoughts spiraled out of her control, Stephanie had inched closer to the girl until she sat before her, eyes soft with sympathy. It wasn't until Stephanie reached out and gripped Ella's shoulder gently did the older girl realize she had been spacing out. She snapped out of her stupor and was met with a kind, gentle smile.  
  
Something inside of Ella broke, lip quivering as her own emotions tried to drown her. She sniffled and rubbed her eyes to stop herself from crying.  
  
"I'm awful, aren't I?" Ella whispered in a watery voice, "I'm so mean to him."  
  
Stephanie shook her head furiously, "That's not true, Ella!"  
  
"But it is," Ella snapped weakly, "He had a panic attack and I yelled at him, all because I was frustrated. I may not get what's going on with him, but having a bratty, mean daughter helps. I see you and your dad and I just get so sad, because you're both so perfect and happy all of the time and I know that I'll never have that with my own dad!"  
  
Out of all of the moments Ella could have broken down and cried, that was one of them. But, while the girl was very upset over her own family dynamic, it felt more like she was admitting an uncomfortable truth. She had felt that way for awhile, but only just then found the voice to say so.  
  
"You love your dad, don't you Ella?" Stephanie asked softly after a short period of contemplative silence.  
  
"Of course I do," Ella sighed, "he's stupid and frustrating, but after all of the crap we've been through, he's always been there. I want to scream at him sometimes, but I still love him."  
  
"I feel the same way about my dad, Ella," Stephanie giggled, "we aren't perfect, we're weird and act different than other families. You show your love different than I do, so comparing our two families wouldn't make any sense."  
  
Stephanie made a lot of sense, Ella realized. She hadn't thought of it that way before, too caught up on why her family wasn't like other families, or why her dad wasn't like other dads. It had never occurred to her that she had been looking at it all wrong.  
  
"I...guess you're right," Ella said slowly, "I've still been pretty awful to him, I don't think he deserves that, even if he does get on my last nerve."  
  
"Then start acting nicer!" Stephanie suggested with a bright smile, "It's never too late to change and start being better."  
  
Ella laughed and rolled her eyes, feeling considerably better, "How are you so cheesy?"  
  
"Have you met my dad?"  
  
"Good point."  
  


 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's winter breeeeeak! I'm gonna be posting often, though sporadically, so keep an eye out!

As annoying as the little pink girl was, Robbie had to admit that he felt a lot better after he had talked to Sportacus, no matter how forced into the conversation he was. It was one of the few moments in his life that trying to talk things out had actually worked out in his favor, all because of a nine-year-old. Also, probably because Sportacus wasn't a wretched person, but that wasn't the first conclusion Robbie came to.  
  
Another positive came not even a day later, when Ella suddenly stopped giving him the cold shoulder. Robbie was grateful, of course, that his daughter seemed to have forgiven him, but it did make him wonder caused the sudden change of heart. Especially when he deserved her hatred.  
  
But, dark and damaged thinking aside, Robbie allowed himself to relish in the slight happiness that was offered to him with very little objection.  
  
Robbie sighed and shook his head, his thoughts distracting him from his task at hand. He had been paid upfront by an embarrassed teenager to repair a water-damaged laptop and he was trying to get the job done before it slipped his mind, like some of his repair jobs did. The damage was minimal, thankfully, as it should have been for a measly fifty bucks. Who was he to complain, though?  
  
A quiet knock on his office door tore his attention away from his work, though, not long after he had forced himself back to work. The door opened slightly, Ella's head peaking into the room hesitantly.  
  
"Are you busy?" Ella asked, eyeing the dismantled laptop with a calculating eye.  
  
"Not if you need me," Robbie replied, slipping off his reading glasses and turning to give him full attention to the girl, "What do you need?"  
  
"Stephanie and I are having a movie night," The girl explained, "Sportacus is joining, too, but he obviously wants to invite you. He won't, though, so I'm doing it for him."  
  
Ella seemed to grow uncomfortable, the longer she stood there, waiting for her dad's response. She wouldn't look him in the eye and seemed more focused on her hands, the carpet, the wall -- anything but Robbie's face.  
  
She obviously wasn't comfortable, but at least she was trying.  
  
"Why in the world would Sporta-stupid want to invite me?" Robbie asked suspiciously.  
  
"Don't be an idiot," Ella snapped, but quickly stopped and took a breath, continuing in a much calmer, though still slightly annoyed tone, "it's obvious, you're basically his best friend."  
  
"He has poor taste." Robbie muttered to himself, making Ella scoff.  
  
"You're still his only friend over the age of twelve," Ella continued in a terse tone, "so, you're coming tonight -- it'll be fun."  
  
'It'll be fun' sounded more like a threat to Robbie, as if he didn't have a choice in having a good time or not. He wanted to argue further, as was his nature, but he also didn't want to ruin the chance that Ella seemed to have graced him with.  
  
"Fine," Robbie sighed dramatically, "I'll come, but I can't promise to have fun. Who knows? Maybe I'll hate it and jump out the window half-way through."  
  
Ella smiled in triumph, "They're coming over at five. Good luck trying to kill yourself from the first floor."  
  
And thus went Robbie's plan B.  
  
-  
  
While Ella and Stephanie rifled through Robbie's movie collection for an appropriate movie to watch, Robbie and Sportacus were busy making snacks. Robbie was content with traditional soda and microwave popcorn, but Sportacus had gone an extra step by bringing his disgustingly healthy snacks: carrot sticks, celery, fruit juice and unbuttered popcorn to top it all off.  
  
Robbie eyed the other's snacks with distaste, hugging his bowl of buttery, artery-clogging popcorn protectively, as if it would be contaminated by the healthier options.  
  
"Who, in their right mind, eats healthy snacks during a movie?" Robbie asked while he gathered cans of soda for Ella and himself.  
  
"I do!" Sportacus answered, not realizing that the question was rhetoric.  
  
Robbie rolled his eyes and left the kitchen, hanging his daughter a can of soda and a smaller bowl of popcorn before collapsing into his orange, fuzzy chair. Sportacus followed after, handing Stephanie a glass fruit juice and an array of healthy snacks, then taking a seat on a cushion by Robbie's chair.  
  
"So, what are we watching?" Sportacus asked, watching Ella pop a DVD from its case.  
  
"Enchanted!" Stephanie grinned.  
  
"I wanted to watch Beetlejuice." Ella grumbled as she placed the disk into the DVD player.  
  
"But Beetlejuice is so creepy!" Stephanie pouted, looking over at the two dads, "she's just mad that I beat her in rock-paper-scissors."  
  
Ella huffed in annoyance, but didn't argue. Sportacus and Robbie shared a knowing glance, both men chuckling at their daughters' antics.  
  
The movie started, prompting the four to fall silent and settle into their respective cushions. Stephanie was immediately engrossed in the bright colors of the animated portion, giggling at the jokes and humming along with the music.  
  
Ella, while not as enthusiastic as Stephanie, seemed to become immersed in the movie, becoming even more focused the longer she stared at the screen.  
  
While Robbie did watch the movie, he couldn't help but occasionally look around the room at his company, more specifically, the man sitting beside his chair. He seemed to be having a good time, though he kept fidgeting, very obviously not comfortable sitting still for as long as he had been. It reminded Robbie of an impatient child, told to sit still by their mother.  
  
Robbie found himself entertained by this, for some weird reason.  
  
"You can walk around if you want, nobody is forcing you to sit." Robbie whispered, leaning over the arm of his chair so that Sportacus could hear him.  
  
"I don't want to be rude," Sportacus whispered back, "I'm fine."  
  
"It's not a big deal, Sporta-nerd," Robbie said a bit forcefully, "c'mon, let's go on a walk or something."  
  
Sportacus attempted to protest, but didn't get the chance, as Robbie hopped up from his chair. The man grabbed him by the upper arm and began to tug him towards the front door.  
  
"We're going on a walk, don't blow anything up." Robbie called over his shoulder to the two girls.  
  
"No promises." Ella replied through a mouth full of popcorn, eyes glued to the television.  
  
Robbie sighed in faux annoyance, then dragged Sportacus from the apartment, though the latter didn't exactly put up a fight.  
  
Outside, the air was cool with the faint traces of late summer humidity still lingering in the atmosphere. Sportacus took in a deep breath, tension leaving him as he stretched his limbs, arms reaching far above his head, then down to his toes, all in one smooth motion.  
  
"Thanks." He grinned sheepishly at Robbie.  
  
"Whatever," Robbie said, waving off the man's thanks, "does that happen a lot? The whole fidgeting thing?"  
  
"Sometimes," Sportacus shrugged, "It's not really a big deal, I just can’t keep still without wanting to jump out of my skin. I like to move around whenever I can."  
  
"I bet you were a nightmare as a kid." Robbie chuckled, imagining the man in his early youth, barely able to sit still as his hyperactivity both amused and exhausted his parents.  
  
He then began walking, in no particular direction, along the paved path that weaved through the apartment complexes. His pace was leisurely, though not so slow that Sportacus had the urge to go ahead. Not that he would, but it was nice to walk beside the shorter man at the same pace.  
  
"Moving around is much more fun than keeping still, it's good for you, too." Sportacus commented with a teasing nudge to Robbie's arm. It was a subtle jab at Robbie's lazy mannerisms, though Sportacus meant nothing rude by it. He would never be so cruel.  
  
"That's where you and I are different," Robbie chuckled, "I can sit in one spot and not move for hours."  
  
"That sounds awful." Sportacus said in a small, horrified voice.  
  
"To you, maybe," Robbie snickered, "sounds pretty relaxing to me. You just don't know how to relax."  
  
"I do, too!" Sportacus said stubbornly, lips curled into something dangerously close to a pout.  
  
The man was childish, that much was obvious. But so was Robbie, in his own weird, grumpy way. Maybe that was why he found himself attracted to Sportacus, despite their obvious differences.  
  
Well, not attached, he was more drawn to him than anything. Like magnets -- just no actual touching. But just a little bit of touching. Maybe one of the magnets wanted to be closer, but really didn't know how to express that. Because it was a magnet.  
  
Robbie lost his original train of thought, too busy arguing with himself about a dumb magnet analogy that didn't even make sense.  
  
He was confused.  
  
"Someone's got to show you how to relax, be a little lazy," Robbie said, forcing himself back into the conversation, "you're looking at the master of laziness, Sporta-jumpy."  
  
Sportacus smiled at the ridiculous nickname and shook his head, "I don't like being lazy, I'd rather move around!"  
  
To emphasize his point, the man suddenly sprang forward into a handstand, held it, then gracefully flipped himself upright in a quick, effortless motion.  
  
Robbie rolled his eyes, but still smiled slightly at the other's man excited mannerisms, "Showoff."  
  
Sportacus grinned, as if Robbie had given him a heartfelt compliment. The two men had stopped walking, situated beneath the warm light of one of the many street lamps lining the concrete path.  
  
"Maybe I am," Sportacus said with a shy grin, "showing off can be fun sometimes, especially if you want to impress someone.'  
  
The last comment was probably a bit...on the nose. It was certainly a risk, but true, nonetheless. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Sportacus found himself wanting to impress Robbie, secretly craving the praise of the grumpy, gangly man.  
  
"Do you mean me? Why would you want to impress me?" Robbie asked, confusion obvious by his tone of voice, "You...really don't have to do that. There's no point, I like you the way you are."  
  
The street lamp's fluorescent glow did little to hide the man's blush.  
  
"Really?" Sportacus grinned, his own blush threatening to set his cheeks ablaze.  
  
"Duh," Robbie with a teasing smile, "Do you really think you need to impress me? No fancy trick will make me like you anymore or any less."  
  
Sportacus' heart fluttered dangerously, making him feel just like a teenager, standing there beneath that streetlamp. He wanted to say something, make a move, anything. But he was so nervous; he'd only known Robbie for a few months! He couldn't be certain if he feelings were even real. He knew he felt something, though. His heart sang for Robbie, a blind, desperate affection.  
  
"Robbie..." Sportacus spoke up hesitantly, voice catching in his throat due to his own nerves, "I--"  
  
"Wait," Robbie cut him off, looking around the area suddenly, brow creased in confusion.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I heard something."  
  
Sportacus hadn't heard anything, but he blamed it on his wildly beating heart blocking out any other noises.  
  
Robbie's eyes focused on a cluster of bushes just a few yards to the right of the concrete path. He held a finger to his lips, silently telling Sportacus to be quiet, then pointed to the bushes.  
  
Sportacus was confused, but said nothing as Robbie began sneaking up on the bushes, movements slow and cat-like. He looked back at the other man with a sly grin before he wrenched the bushes apart.  
  
Ziggy and Pixel immediately began to scream when they realized Robbie had infiltrated their hiding spot.  
  
"Please don't eat me!" Ziggy shrieked hysterically, hands pressed firmly against the sides of his neck.

"Abort mission!" Pixel shouted, quickly snatching up both Ziggy and his backpack. He then dodged past Robbie and ran as fast as he could to get away.  
  
It wasn't like Robbie was chasing them, though. He simply stood there, confused.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Robbie asked Sportacus, still watching Pixel's silhouette as he stumbled under the weight of both Ziggy and his own backpack.  
  
"No idea." Sportacus mumbled quietly, equally perplexed.  
  
Robbie shook his head, as if he wanted to shake the confusion from his mind.  
  
"I'm just going to pretend that didn't happen," Robbie muttered in a low voice, then turned to look at Sportacus, "anyway, what were you saying?"  
  
"Uh..." Sportacus hesitated, "I forgot."  
  
A little lie never hurt anyone, Sportacus thought to himself.  
  
Robbie looked at him strangely and, for a moment, Sportacus thought the man would call him out on his lie. But the suspicion passed and Robbie shrugged before beginning to walk back in the direction of his apartment.  
  
"Let's make sure the little snots are still alive." Robbie said.  
  
Sportacus nodded and followed close behind his companion, the flutter in his chest considerably calmer, for the time being.  
  
  


 


	13. Chapter 13

Weeks passed in the town of Lazytown without much excitement, nothing awful occurring, but nothing terribly exciting, either. Life was mundane in the most pleasing of ways. By the time September arrived, Robbie was pleased with the few weeks of peace he had been gifted with.

Both Ella and Stephanie were enjoying the peace as well, the girls going through the motions of school with little to no incident. Stephanie had stopped being bullied by the group of rude boys and Ella found herself getting along with Pixel’s lunch group, much to her own surprise.

Things were...alright. As alright as they could be.

But the peace could only last so long, some change had to come, a ripple in calm waters, no matter how insignificant or disastrous.

The ripple occurred on one terribly hot September afternoon, the sun high in the sky, radiating unforgiving heat. It was way too hot for any sane person to be out and about, in Robbie’s opinion.

So, of course, that meant all of the children were outside playing, with Robbie and Sportacus watching over them off to the side.

Sportacus didn’t seem bothered by the heat, not a single bead of sweat dripping from his brow. The only sign of any heat was the thin t-shirt clinging to his tanned skin. Not that Robbie was paying attention, or anything.

Robbie, on the other hand, was absolutely miserable. Sweat dripped from his face and trickled down his neck, pooling beneath the collar of his lightest dress-shirt. It was the thinnest he owned, but it did little to help, the long sleeves trapping the heath beneath the fabric and against his skin.

He desperately wanted to go inside and take a nap directly on top of his air conditioning unit, not emerging until winter, sort of like a reverse hibernation. But he had promised Ella he would go outside and join in the ‘fun’. Any excuse he gave would turn sour in Ella’s mind, maybe even reverse some of the progress they had made, bonding wise.

So, he sat there, hot and miserable, watching the children play through his hazy vision and sweat-soaked bangs.

They were playing a game involving a princess, a king, a few knights, and a monster. Stephanie played as the princess, a shiny plastic tiara tucked into her bubblegum pink hair. Stingy was the king, watching over his knights: Trixie, Pixel, and Ella.

That left Ziggy as the monster. Trixie was attempting to fight the boy with her foam sword, but he kept shrieking in fear every time the weapon came anywhere near him. The longer this went on, the more frustrated Trixie became.

“Ziggy!” Trixie groaned loudly, “Stop screaming so much, monsters aren’t scaredy-cats!”

“I-I’m not scared!” Ziggy defended with a pout, “I’m a big scary monster!”

Trixie stared at the boy, unimpressed, then poked him in the stomach with her sword. The boy shrieked loudly and fell backwards onto the ground.

“I have killed the baby monster!” Trixie declared in a booming, heroic voice.

“I’m not a baby!” Ziggy said stubbornly from the ground.

“Ziggy, dead monsters don’t talk.” Stephanie whispered to the boy.

“Oh, okay.” Ziggy whispered back, then flopped onto the ground.

Pixel and Ella rushed to Trixie’s side, brandishing their own foam swords.

“But if that’s the baby monster,” Pixel said, pointing his sword at Ziggy, “then where’s the mama monster?”

Robbie had to applaud their improv skills, though he would never admit that he had become invested in the plot of a children’s game. It may have just been a silly little game, but the group of children took it very seriously, rarely breaking character of giving a half-hearted delivery on their on-the-spot lines.

When Pixel asked where the mother monster was, Ella not-so-subtly looked over at her father, silently gesturing for him to join. She was grinning widely, the fun of playing outside with her friends giving her pale cheeks a healthy redness. It was happy sight to behold, compared the her usual pale sullenness.

There was a nudge to Robbie’s side, making him look over at the source. Sportacus grinned at him, his perfect smile and bright eyes making Robbie feel impossibly light for a moment. The man nodded towards the children and nudged him again.

“I think the kids need a monster.” Sportacus chuckled.

“Are you calling me a monster? I take offense to that.” Robbie asked teasingly, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning.

Sportacus laughed and shook his head, “Go on, it’ll be fun.”

Robbie knew it wasn’t the best idea to run around with the children, considering how unbearably hot he already was. But he also knew that dealing with the disappointment of an entire group of children would be annoying to deal with. He may have not been the nicest guy in the world, but he wasn’t so heartless as to deny his daughter and her friends a little bit of fun.

With an exaggerated sigh, Robbie stood and wiped his sweaty brow, preparing himself for his new role as a terrifying mama monster. He crouched into a hunched, intimidating pose, hands curled into imaginary claws, and began to stomp towards the children.

“Rawr! Who dare trespasses on my land?” Robbie growled at the knights.

The three knights were grinning excitedly at their new playmate, then gasped in unison, pretending to be shocked and scared of the new opponent.

“It’s the mama monster!” Pixel shouted, sword pointed defensively at Robbie.

“You two distract him! I’ll get the princess!” Trixie said, dodging past Robbie and running over to Stephanie.

Pixel and Ella crouched into battle stances, ready to defeat the monster that held their Princess hostage.

“Die, foul beast!” Ella declared, sword connecting with Robbie’s shin.

The blow barely even registered, but Robbie still reacted, stumbling back and snarling in rage.  
  
“You’ll never defeat me!” Robbie growled, playfully swiping at Ella and Pixel.

The two knights continued their efforts of taking down Robbie, who artfully dodged some attacks and allowed others to land. All of the children laughed and cheered at the display, the game having become so much more fun with Robbie playing their monster.

In an act of bold playfulness, Robbie rushed forward and swept Ella off of her feet and into a surprise tackle-hug, laughing while he pretended to try and bite the girl. Ella shrieked with laughter and struggled in her father’s hold.

“Go on without me,” Ella shouted to Pixel, “he’s too strong!”

“I won’t leave you!” The boy yelled back.

The boy then rushed forward, sword focused on Robbie’s exposed side. The foam made contact, striking and bouncing off of Robbie’s sweat-soaked button up.

Robbie froze when her felt the foam sword hit him, carefully dropping his daughter onto the ground before gripping his side, face overtaken by a look of enraged pain. He fell to his knees dramatically, glaring at the brave knight that had defeated him.

“You’ve defeated me, knight,” Robbie whispered in a strained voice, “take your silly little princess, she probably would’ve tasted bad, anyway.”

With that final declaration, Robbie seized up and collapsed, sprawling onto the hot concrete.

The children yelled in triumph, the monster defeated and their princess saved.

Before Ella ran off to join her friends, she nudged Robbie with her foot, smiling down at her father.

“Thanks, dad.”

She then turned away and ran to her friends, leaving Robbie on the ground, feeling pleased with himself. Despite how overheated he felt, the man was in a strangely good mood. He still managed to feel joyful as air entered his lungs in quick, stuttered pants.

He forced himself to sit up, almost immediately regretting his decision. A wave of nausea swept over him, an unfortunate additional layer to his already uncomfortable state of being.

“Are you alright, Robbie?”

Sportacus was suddenly right beside him, making Robbie jump nearly an inch off of the ground. When had he gotten there?

“I-I’m just peachy,” Robbie lied shakily, “just being lazy.”

Sportacus didn’t look entirely convinced, but smiled nonetheless, “Of course you are, I’m sure the ground isn’t very comfortable, though. Would you want to move to the shade?”

Robbie nodded, standing up quickly in his impatience to get somewhere cooler.

As soon as he was upright, Robbie found his vision flooded with dark spottiness, head overcome by a sudden wave of overwhelming dizziness.

He was absolutely certain he was going to throw up. Or pass out. Maybe he would throw up, then pass out, or vice versa.

Robbie could barely hear someone shouting his name, unable to hear anything past the blood roaring in his ears. The dizziness peaked, his vision going from spotty to entirely black.

He barely even felt his body hit the pavement before he blacked out.

 

 

  
“Are you alright, Robbie?” Sportacus asked softly, kneeling beside Robbie on the hot, hot pavement.

Watching Robbie play with the children had been an absolutely wonderful thing to witness. Sportacus’ heart had seemed lighter as he watched his friend laugh and be silly, a delightful contrast to his usual dark broodiness. It was nice to see him have fun for once.

What wasn’t nice, though, was when Robbie stayed on the ground a little bit too long after he had dramatically ‘died’. His breathing was heavy and he was drenched in sweat, even worse than before he had started running around with the children. He sat up, eventually, but a sickly look came across his face in an instant.

Concerned, Sportacus had approached Robbie and kneeled beside him -- he didn’t look any better up close, far worse, actually.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Just being lazy.” Robbie answered, brushing Sportacus’ concern off.

He was lying, Sportacus knew that for certain. He wanted to call him out on it, but he had learned that pushing Robbie wasn’t really the best idea.

He wished he had, though.

Sportacus offered a hand and asked the man if he would like to rest somewhere cooler, because surely the hot pavement was uncomfortable. Robbie nodded and ignored the offered hand, instead scrambling to his feet by himself.

Almost immediately, Robbie’s eyes became unfocused, his body swaying dangerously and his limbs shaking.

“Robbie?” Sportacus called, hoping to get some form of response out of the man. His calls of Robbie’s name became frantic and, before he could even register him falling, Robbie was collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

“Robbie!” Sportacus shouted, rushing forward to try and catch the man before he fell.

When his hands made contact with Robbie’s flushed skin, Sportacus almost flinched away out of instinct. His skin was hot, worryingly so, sweat covering his face and neck in a worryingly glimmering sheen. Sportacus rested the man’s head in his lap, gently shaking him in an attempt to wake him, but Robbie was out cold.

By then, the children had noticed the concerning sight and rushed over, game forgotten. Ella knelt beside her father and poked one of his flushed cheeks.

“What’s wrong with him?” She asked, trying to hide her growing concern behind an indifferent mask. Sportacus could see that the girl was worried, though.

“He’s probably just overheated and dehydrated,” Sportacus replied calmly to put the children at ease, “there’s no reason to be worried, this happens to a lot of people.”

“Really?” Stingy asked, staring at Robbie’s still form with a frown, “could it happen to me?”

“Yup, if you don’t drink enough water or take breaks when playing outside.” He didn’t know how the situation had become a teaching moment, but at least something positive was coming from it.  
  
“I’m going to take Robbie inside, alright?” Sportacus said, beginning to gather Robbie’s limp form into his arms, “I’ll be back soon, drink plenty of water!”

Feeling Robbie’s body so close to his only made it so much more apparent how overheated the man was, waves of heat seeming to radiate from his skin. Once Robbie was properly situated, Sportacus jogged towards the apartment complex, doing his best not to jostle his unconcious form.

Sportacus stopped for a moment when he reached the complex, silently debating on where he should bring Robbie to rest. Robbie’s apartment was closer, right next to him, in fact, but Sportacus wasn’t entirely familiar with the layout. He’d rather not rifle through Robbie’s things, either, not wanting to risk messing something up. With Robbie, you made that mistake once and only once.

With his mind made up, Sportacus carefully climbed the stairs leading to his apartment and awkwardly attempted to get his door open. Once inside, Sportacus wasted no time leaving Robbie on his bed and gathering the supplies he needed: a change of clothes, bottled water, and a cool washcloth.

The clothes seemed to be the only issue, as Robbie was far taller and skinnier than him, but Sportacus managed to find a plain t-shirt and breathable shorts that would, hopefully, give Robbie some relief from the heat.

But...another issue soon occured to Sportacus.

He’d have to undress Robbie.

Objectively, it wasn’t a big deal, not in the slightest. Robbie was overheated in his clothes, so of course he would need to be dressed in something more comfortable and less restrictive.

But when Sportacus hesitantly began to take off the man’s shoes and socks, an odd sense of guilt blossomed in his chest, as if he was doing something he wasn’t supposed to. He did his best to push past his own embarrassment, for Robbie’s sake. Sure, he would probably be mad when he woke up, but it was better than him getting sick.

Once Robbie’s black jeans were tossed aside, the task of undressing the man became a lot easier and far less embarrassing on Sportacus’ part.

As his fingers worked at the buttons of Robbie’s dress shirt, Sportacus wondered why anyone would wear such constrictive clothing on such a hot day. It simply wasn’t safe or smart.

He got his answer as soon as the first sleeve was slipped from Robbie’s right arm.

Sportacus gasped softly in shock and dropped the shirt sleeve, staring at Robbie’s wrist.

Scars littered the pale skin of the man’s wrist, scattered all the way from the top of his hands to just below his elbow. A majority were small and circular, the raised, pink scar tissue glossy with the shine of a healed-over burn. Sportacus immediately recognized them as cigarette burns, having discovered some on a child he used to teach years ago.

Sportacus’ heart ached as he stared at the scars, so many things making sense all at once, yet so many questions being raised as well. He hesitantly investigated Robbie’s other wrist, finding it in a similar state, though there were definitely not as many scars to be found.

A sniffle escaped him and only then did Sportacus realize he was crying. The sight of so many painful looking scars littering his friend’s skin hurt the man deeply.  
  
But as much as Sportacus wanted to sit there and cry over whatever pain Robbie was in, he still needed to finish undressing and cooling down his friend.

He dressed Robbie in a thin t-shirt and shorts with only some difficulty, then grabbed the washcloth he had retrieved and wet it with the cold water from the water bottle. The washcloth seemed to do the trick, as Robbie’s tense features seemed to smooth out, even in his unconscious state.

Sportacus smiled sadly, happy to see the man in a somewhat peaceful state for once.

Though he knew it wouldn’t last very long.

 

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

    Robbie awoke slowly to a pounding headache assaulting his senses. The steady rhythm kept time with his too-loud heartbeat, forcing him awake far faster than he would have liked.

    A loud groan made its way past his chapped lips as he began fully wake up. He felt sick in a strange sort of way, concentrated in his head and leaving him dizzy, despite having not moved an inch. His eyes opened a fraction, happy to find the room pleasantly dim. Bright light would only serve to make him feel even worse.

    Carefully, Robbie attempted to it up on the bed and fight past his dizziness. Once he was sitting up, the wet washcloth that had been sitting on his forehead plopped onto his lap. He eyed it strangely, but immediately was distracted by the clothes he was wearing.

    The longer he stared at his exposed arms, his scars on full display, the faster his breathing picked up as panic bubbled in the back of his throat. Very suddenly, he recalled the fainting spell he had suffered outside, cursing himself for being so careless.

    Another realization struck him: he wasn’t in his own bedroom.

    It would be one thing if he was in his own home, but he _wasn’t_ , he was in an unfamiliar space, so very close to panicking. Robbie found it was becoming harder and harder to get oxygen into his body.

    Just as the panic attack was about to consume him, the bedroom door opened and Sportacus entered. He went to smile in greeting, but stopped immediately when he noticed his friend’s panic stricken face.

    “Robbie,” Sportacus said softly, quickly moving to sit beside his friend, “it’s okay, you’re okay.”

    Robbie held his arms to his chest, trying and failing to hide his scars from view. He knew it was no use, Sportacus had most likely already seen them. But that didn’t stop him from trying to maintain what little dignity he had left.

    Sportacus’ eyes flinched to his exposed arms guiltily, before fluttering back to Robbie’s face.

    “Please calm down, Robbie,” Sportacus pleaded in a soft voice, “let me explain-”

    “Don’t tell me to fucking calm down!” Robbie shouted, voice crackling past his dry, clenched throat.

    Sportacus shrank back at Robbie’s yelling, but did his best to keep his composure. He knew very well that this would happen, but he still felt horribly uncertain of how to proceed.

    “You had no right.” Robbie growled at the man.

    “Robbie, you were overheated -- you fainted! --” Sportacus tried to reason, but Robbie cut him off again.

    “I don’t _care_ !” Robbie shouted, sounding on the verge of hysterics, “you invaded my privacy, you _idiot_ , I hid myself for a reason, and you just barged right into my life like you had the _right_ to know all of my secrets! I’ve spent all of this time trying to move the fuck on and forget! What the fuck am I going to do? I didn’t want anyone to know, I didn’t want _you_ to know…”

    The man’s frantic, angry rambling tapered off into choked mumbling. He began to shake with the weight of his own overwhelming emotions. He refused to cry in front of Sportacus. He was already too exposed, crying would only serve to make him more vulnerable. He wasn't ready to be so vulnerable in front of the first person he had been close to in the longest time.

    “Robbie…” Sportacus said softly, instinctively reaching out to comfort his friend. Careful not to touch his arms, Sportacus gingerly placed a hand on one of Robbie’s trembling shoulders.

    Robbie flinched, but he didn’t shout, or shove his hand away in anger, so Sportacus supposed that was a good sign.

    “I had to, Robbie,” Sportacus sighed, “I didn’t want you getting sick.”

    “You didn’t know,” Robbie mumbled sullenly, “but now you do, there’s no changing that.”

    Sportacus wasn’t exactly sure how to respond, so he grabbed the bottle of water he had retrieved earlier and uncapped it for Robbie. The man nodded gratefully, the near heat stroke and almost panic attack having left him dehydrated.

    They spent a few long minutes in uncertain silence while Robbie sipped the water, grateful for something to distract himself with.

    Sportacus desperately wanted to say something, but couldn’t seem to find the right words to voice his concerns. It wasn’t as if he had prepared for something so...sad. His heart hurt too much for his brain to think of the right thing to say.

    “Robbie,” Sportacus blurted before his brain could catch up, “are you okay?

    Robbie froze and looked up from his water bottle. He had half expected Sportacus to ignore the issue, or had hoped he would, at the very least. But Sportacus, being the empathetic sap that he was, would of course be concerned over Robbie’s worrying scars.

    “I’m fine,” Robbie shrugged, “not so hot anymore.”

    Sportacus frowned, “You know that’s not what I meant.”

    Robbie wouldn’t look at Sportacus, not directly. He didn’t want to talk about it, his scars, his past, anything wrong with him. Maybe he was being stubborn, but he had every right to be that way.

    “Robbie.” Sportacus snapped suddenly, making Robbie jump at the sudden frustration in his friend’s voice. He was obviously losing his patience.

    He had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to lie his way out of opening up.

    “...I didn’t do it, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Robbie mumbled, “I’m not like that.”

    Sportacus seemed to relax considerably at Robbie’s words, “I’m glad. I-I mean, not that you were hurt, i-it’s just...I was scared of that…”

    Robbie shook his head, staring at his collection of scars distractedly. It was easier than looking at his concerned friend in the eye.

    “Who hurt you, then?”

    Robbie flinched. He’d been expecting the question, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear. He really didn’t want to talk about it, but what good would that do?

    “...my ex-wife, Dianna.” Robbie confessed, is voice barely above a whisper. He shuddered slightly, having never told anyone, save for his brother. But this wasn’t his brother, it was Sportacus, the stupid, smiling idiot that had sneaked his way into Robbie’s miserable heart when he hadn’t been looking.

    “That’s...awful,” Sportacus said finally, voice sounding almost horrified at Robbie’s confession, “Why would she do that? God, Robbie, whatever happened, you didn’t deserve that. Nobody deserves that.”

    “I kind of did.” Robbie muttered with a shrug. He still couldn’t look Sportacus in the eye, the shame too much to bear. He would have thought that opening up about something so painful would make him feel better, but it didn’t. Robbie just felt ashamed for reasons he couldn’t explain.

    “I refuse to believe that,” Sportacus said firmly, fairly sure Robbie’s insecurities refused to let him see the truth of the situation he had been in.

    Then again, Sportacus didn’t know the full truth, either. Not that he would ever agree with Robbie’s depressing claims, he simply didn’t know the entire story, how those scars came to be on Robbie’s pretty, pale skin.

    “Can you tell me what happened?” Sportacus asked slowly, carefully, “I don’t really know anything about your life before Lazytown. I knew you were married, but I never really wanted to pry about Ella’s mom, I guess.”

    Robbie sighed heavily, both to psyche himself up and calm himself in the face of the bitter memories that resurfaced in his mind. He spent so much of his time trying to stamp down those awful feelings and memories. Being asked to recall them hurt more than he cared to admit.

    He’d been running for so long, trying to forget, trying to move on and be normal, but it wasn’t working. It had never worked.

    He was so tired. Tired of running, tired of suffering and struggling everyday of his damn life. He just wanted peace, even if it was just for a moment.

    “Do you really want to know?” He asked softly, shoulders slumped with defeat and fatigue.

    “I do,” Sportacus answered gently, “but you don’t have to tell me. I shouldn’t have asked, I understand if you don’t want to--”

    “Stop, just stop.” Robbie interrupted with a tired wave of his hand, “it’s just...something I haven’t wanted to think about. I don’t want to talk about--”

    “--that’s alright, I understand--”

“--but I have to.” Robbie finished sharply, finally looking Sportacus in the eye, “I can’t keep running from the past if it’s making everyone around me suffer.”

    Sportacus made a soft noise of understanding, then adjusted himself on the bed so that he could listen more intently and not interrupt with his fidgeting around.

    “How do I even start?” Robbie wondered aloud, laughing bitterly at himself.

    “Well...how did you meet her?” Sportacus asked as a sort of icebreaker.

 

   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays! I hope y'all had a great Christmas or just a relaxing day off. Have a chapter.


	15. Chapter 15

“She transferred to my school at the beginning of my senior year,” Robbie began his story calmly, keeping his emotions in check until he reached the actually difficult information, “new people came in all the time, so I didn't pay any attention to her. I wasn't exactly the friendliest person in school, if you can believe it.”

The comment made Sportacus chuckle and Robbie smile slightly.

“She was pretty popular right away, everyone liked her. I wanted to ignore her and drown out all of the bullshit around me...but she was odd. Different. She wasn't fake nice, but she wasn't a stuck-up bitch, either. She was honest with herself and didn't care what other people thought. She did stuff that should have made other people hate her, but they didn't.”

“One of those weird things was deciding to talk to me.” Robbie laughed dryly, remembering the first day Dianna spoke to him well.

-

    _He sat in the same spot in the lunchroom since his freshman year: in the corner farthest from the windows, his head down while he wolfed down whatever food the lunch ladies decided to dump in front of the students. The food was disgusting most of the time, but Robbie knew better than to complain, it would most likely be his only full meal of the day. The situation wasn’t the best, but nobody bothered him, and that was better than nothing._

_But two weeks into the new school year, his isolated routine was interrupted._

_In the middle of lunch one day, a girl sat across from him with zero hesitation. To make matters worse, it was the new girl, making it harder for him to read the room and react accordingly. She reclined in the rickety plastic chair like it was her regular seat._

_“So,” She said immediately, staring at him expectantly, “what’s your deal?”_

_“My...deal?” He responded slowly, eyebrow quirked high in annoyance and confusion._

_“You sit in this dark corner everyday day, what gives?” The girl questioned, leaning on her arms and staring intently at him._

_“Why the fuck do you care?” Robbie snapped, annoyed with a random girl invading his space. People left him alone, usually. That’s how he liked it._

_The girl held up her hands in surrender, not looking the least bit disturbed by Robbie’s outburst. In fact, she was smirking._

_“Take a chill pill, dude,” The girl laughed, “I just thought you looked lonely. So I’m going to sit here and hang with you, how’s that sound?”_

_Robbie scowled, “And what would you do if I told you to fuck off?”_

_Despite his rude and abrasive attitude, the girl laughed and shrugged, “I’d probably come back just to piss you off. I’m not the type to give up so easy.”_

_Robbie decided that he wouldn’t be getting rid of the girl any time soon. He hated how easily he was giving into the situation, but he couldn’t really find the energy to fight back any longer. It was his senior year, after all, he had an entire list of other bullshit he had to worry about._

_“Fine, whatever, sit here if you want,” Robbie grumbled sourly, “but be prepared to be bored out of your damn mind.”_

_Robbie could practically feel how smug her grin was without even looking at her._

_“I’m Dianna, in case you didn’t know.” The girl, Dianna, said as a formal introduction. She stuck her hand in front of his face, waiting for Robbie to shake her hand and introduce himself as well._

_Robbie frowned at her hand, but looked up in spite of himself. He’d only known Dianna for a few minutes and he was already frustrated beyond belief. But there she was, hand extended for him to shake, smug grin spread across her face._

_He sighed, took Dianna’s hand, and shook it, unenthusiastic, “I’m Robbie._

    “We started dating a few weeks after that.” Robbie chuckled softly.

    “What?” Sportacus asked, “I-I mean, I know you two eventually got married...but you started dating, just like that?”

    Robbie shrugged, “She was stubborn, just like me. Dianna knew exactly how to get under my skin without even trying. We should have hated each other, but for some weird reason, there was chemistry.”

    Sportacus nodded, not quite understanding, but knowing better than to question a relationship he had barely any knowledge of. But with how he knew the story was going to end, Sportacus knew he would have a lot more to be confused and angry about.

    Robbie’s look of nostalgia shifted into something darker, more vulnerable.

-

    _“What did you want to tell me?”_

_They had been dating only three months when Dianna called Robbie after school, telling him to meet her at the park. Per usual, she had told him, not asked him. She mentioned needing to tell him something important, not that he could remember the short conversation. He cared about his girlfriend, she just had a habit of spouting absolute bullshit under the guise of absolute ‘importance’._

_Even Dianna seemed bored where she sat at the park picnic table, picking at her nails and playing with her bangs._

_“Y’know, I was debating on if I should even tell you,” Dianna said with a sigh, “since I’ve got it covered already.”_

_“Well, I’m here, might as well tell me.” Robbie said impatiently, slightly annoyed at her unnecessary dramatics._

_“I’m pregnant.” She announced simply, not even bothering to look up from her nails. Robbie could see that her usual perfect manicure was chipped at, her nails bitten, and her cuticles in ruins, giving away her hidden anxiety.  
_

_“What?!” Robbie practically shrieked, voice cracking, “that’s kind of a big fucking deal!”_

_Dianna rolled her eyes at her boyfriend’s outburst, “Not really. Calm down, you're fine, I’ve got it covered.”_

_“What do mean, ‘got it covered’? Are you keeping it?” He hated referring to his own unborn child as ‘it’, but he needed to disconnect himself from the situation to remain calm.  He needed that disconnect between him and the life in his girlfriend’s body, the same girlfriend that was staring at him like he was an idiot._

_“Keep it? Fuck no, I can't deal with that right now, you know my parents, they would kill me, or lock me away from the 'dangerous and sinful world',” Dianna snapped, “I’ve got an appointment at a clinic later, I'm keeping it on the down low, so don't go telling anyone. You don't even have to come with me.”_

_Robbie kept his mouth shut after that. focusing instead on his own conflicted emotions. He let Dianna rant to him about whatever came into her head, seeming unbothered by what she had just told him. She was going on forever, but he knew she was doing it to cover up her nervousness. Even Dianna wasn't immune to fear and doubt, no matter how badass and cool she tried to act around everyone._

_He knew he should’ve said something, but he also knew that he was powerless to change her mind. He didn’t even know if wanted to keep the baby, just that he wanted more of a discussion on the matter._

_But he knew better than to argue with Dianna. Even if he tried, her mind was set on her plan and her plan only.  
_

 

_He got another call later that day from Dianna. She sounded uncharacteristically upset as she asked him to come to her house, voice shaking despite her efforts to sound calm and collected. It left Robbie almost sick with worry as he sneaked out of his apartment, careful to tiptoe past his brother, who was passed out on the couch._

_Robbie had only been to Dianna’s house once to meet her parents when they first started dating. One time was enough to know that he was not in the family's favor. Her mother had been kind and somewhat subdued, but it was her father that haunted him. He was loud, threatening, and incredibly angry at everything and everyone. One wrong move and Robbie’s body would never be found._

_So when Dianna asked him to come over, voice strained and upset, Robbie’s stomach became twisted into hard, painful knots._

  
-

    “Her mom found the pregnancy test when she was cleaning Dianna's room and told her dad, then he fucking lost it” Robbie said with a grimace, “he beat the absolute shit out of me. He might’ve killed me if Dianna’s mom hadn’t stepped in. She said I could marry Dianna if my parents agreed to it. All I had was my brother, so she agreed to wait until I turned eighteen and marry her then. She was a smart lady, I felt bad that she was married to such an asshole.”

    “I’m guessing they were pretty traditional?” Sportacus asked slowly, more to break his own silence.

    “No shit, Sherlock,” Robbie laughed bitterly, “they were hardcore Catholic.”

    “So, you got married at 18,” Sportacus said, urging Robbie to continue.

    “Yup, day after my birthday, no wedding, just the contract,” Robbie sighed, “it wasn’t so bad, if I’m being honest. Her mom helped us get an apartment and took Dianna to the doctor, things like that. It wasn’t ideal, but Dianna and I didn’t hate each other, it could’ve been a lot worse.”

    “But...something changed,” He continued, eyebrows furrowed, “Dianna changed. I think she didn’t completely accept that she was actually pregnant until it was impossible to ignore. She got...angry.”

    “Hormones?” Sportacus guessed.

    “It was more than that,” Robbie argued, “ _She_ changed. Getting married so young wasn’t fun and dangerous anymore, it was normal. She hated it, hated that she couldn’t be a rebellious teenager anymore -- it was my fault.”

    “Robbie…” Sportacus said softly, voice sympathetic as Robbie’s words became laced with self-hatred and the unstable emotions coming from the awful memories.

    “But,” Robbie interrupted, composing himself quickly, “it was worth it, for me, at least. When Ella was born, I was so damn happy. The doctor told me that Dianna may not connect with her, but I couldn’t care less. As soon as I saw that dumb little baby face, I swore to myself that I would do anything to protect her, with or without her mother.”

    Robbie stared down at his hands, his expression twisted and bitter.

    “If she wouldn’t be my wife, I thought she could at the very least be my friend.”

    He sighed angrily.

    “I guess I was wrong.”

 

   

   


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just projecting, don't mind me

_It was difficult, nearly impossible, to pinpoint exactly when things horribly wrong, or if there was even a specific moment that initiated the downfall._

_Obviously the entire unplanned pregnancy situation was a start, but it wasn’t quite the tipping point, it was only the beginning. The unexpected pregnancy was fine, the practically forced marriage was fine, everything was fine._

_Robbie was trying his best to make the marriage work. He knew his wife wasn’t happy, he wasn’t stupid like she thought he was. But that didn’t stop him from trying to make the best out of a bad situation._

_One of the first obvious incidents happened when Robbie was doing paperwork from one of his small, freelance jobs. He worked from home so that he could take care of Ella and allow Dianna to work outside of their small apartment. It was a small sacrifice to make for his wife, so that she could regain some of her lost freedom. He didn’t mind._

_What he did mind, though, was that he had to deliver a repaired laptop to a guy that downright refused to pick up the laptop from his home. Robbie sighed in frustration and slumped in his chair, careful not to jostle Ella, who sat contently in his lap. She twisted around to look at her tired father, her dark eyes wide and curious._

_“Dah?” She babbled, as if asking a genuine question. It was lost in translation due to her inability to speak English fluently._

_“Yup, I’m your dad.” Robbie answered tiredly, mostly mumbling to himself._

_Ella babbled something incoherent and smacked at her father’s arm, pulling herself up to stand on his thighs. Her tiny hands came up to pat his cheeks, stretching the skin around his mouth._   
_  
  _ _“Smuh!” She squealed, grinning widely as she attempted to stretch her dad’s mouth into a smile._

_Robbie laughed at her actions, smiling for her sake. It was hard to succumb to his own exhaustion when he was around the sweet toddler._

  _“C’mon, munchkin, let’s go see if momma will watch you for a little bit.” Robbie said to the toddler, standing from his desk chair and shifting to hold his daughter more securely._

_He found Dianna lounging in the living room, still dressed in her formal secretary getup, minus her black kitten heels and tight hair bun. She was slumped against the couch cushions, hair falling around her in messy waves and her bare feet propped on their questionably stained ottoman._

_“My boss is such a diiiick,” She groaned once she spotted her husband, ready to vent the moment he was in her line of sight, “he had me running around all day on stupid errands. I’m pretty sure he gets off on watching his underlings running around and doing whatever he says.”_

_Robbie shrugged, “You know those big businessmen are involved in a million different sex scandals.”_

_Dianna snorted, “I know he’s sleeping with that bitch redhead from accounting, I’m safe for the time being.”_

_Ella began to squirm in Robbie’s arms, trying to wriggle free from his hold. He carefully set the toddler down on the ground, making sure she was steady before letting her run off. The girl giggled and toddled off in a random direction to find something to entertain herself with._

_“Could you watch Ella for a little bit? I have to deliver that laptop I was working on.” Robbie asked, hoping that he had read his wife’s mood correctly._

_Dianna sighed tiredly and rolled her eyes, “Can’t you bring her with you?”_

_“I’ll only be gone half an hour,” Robbie countered, “I’d be faster if you watched her for a little bit.”_

_Dianna’s features pinched together in annoyance, very visibly displeased with her husband._

_“You always dump her on me,” Dianna snapped, “can’t I just have one fucking moment to myself?”_

_Robbie forced himself to take a calming breath. They could only afford to have one person be hot-headed in an argument, in case things took a turn for the worst._

_“I watch her everyday, Dianna,” Robbie said calmly, stamping down the urge to pull his hair out, “so forgive me for wanting her to spend thirty minutes with her mother.”_

_“Don’t you dare use my own daughter against me, Robert.” Dianna said in a low, dangerous, voice._

_That made Robbie hesitate. Nobody ever called him Robert, not since he was a small child being yelled at by a parent with a face obscured by his foggy memory. The formal name sent a shock down his spine, cold and unforgiving._

_Dianna suddenly laughed at his stricken expression, all of her anger gone in an instant, replaced with a familiar joking smirk. Robbie didn’t understand what she found so funny, but chose not to say anything._

_“Really? That’s what shuts you up?” She snickered, “that’s so sad, it’s hilarious.”_

_“I-I guess…” Robbie muttered, feeling ashamed for some unknown reason. He honestly did not want to be in the same room as his wife in that moment._

_“Oh, c’mon, don’t be like that, you’re so sensitive,” Dianna pouted, “I’m sorry, I’m just in a mood, go on and do your little delivery, I’ll watch Ella.”_

_Robbie simply nodded and fled the room, grabbing the laptop and leaving the apartment as fast as he could._

_\- -  - - - -  - - - - -_

_It didn’t get better as the years passed by. Dianna’s small bouts of anger and frustration transformed in constant sour moods directed at Robbie. She could pretend around others, but would immediately turn on Robbie whenever they would find themselves alone._

_He wanted to leave, often dreaming of escaping the toxic marriage and doing literally anything else. A million possible scenarios would pass through his mind of him being on his own, free from the prison he had made for himself. One of the more ridiculous fantasies involved him being the chimney sweep in Mary Poppins. Then again, everyone has dreamed about being Dick Van Dyke at some point in their lives._

_But at the end of the day, he couldn’t bring himself to leave, he couldn’t imagine living any other way. Being content with his life seemed like an impossible fantasy, just like his Dick Van Dyke daydreams._

_He had Ella to think about, his precious little girl of barely seven years old. Every time Robbie thought about packing his things and running away, he would be attacked with the memory of his own seventh birthday, the day his father left for the final time, never to return. Robbie knew the pain of a broken, splintered home. Ella didn’t deserve that, just because her wimp of a father couldn’t handle a little bit of name calling._

_Thankfully, Dianna never turned on Ella, instead keeping her anger and discontent directed primarily towards her husband. Robbie would never be able to forgive himself if Dianna treated Ella like she treated him -- with passive aggression and barely disguised contempt._

_But it seemed like he was complaining about nothing. There were people in far worse situations than him. He simply had his ego bruised, his feelings hurt sometimes, and the occasional sleepless nights where he choked back tears and muffled his sobs into his pillow. Calling it abuse didn’t sit right in him, it didn’t really count in his eyes._

_He was fine._

_Everything was fine._  


_Robbie loved Dianna, no matter how angry she got with him. Every time she snapped, all he could see was the fiery teenager he’d met back in highschool. She loved him, too, sometimes. He liked to think that, at least._

_He told himself that he stayed for Ella, but he never knew if that was the whole truth. Maybe if he waited out the storm, things would return to normal. Maybe they could be happy again._

_Stupid optimism, it never got him anywhere._

_\- - - - - - - - - - - - - -_

_“Are you still talking to your brother?” Dianna asked one night, as she stared out of their open bedroom window, cigarette dangling between her delicate fingers. She’d taken up smoking the month previous, but she smoked like she’d been doing it all of her life. Robbie didn’t like it, but he was too afraid to ask her to stop._

_“Glanni? Yeah, we’re still talking.” Robbie answered without a thought._

_She flicked her cigarette on the windowsill, ashes swept away by the nightime wind._

_“I don’t like him,” Dianna said calmly, as if she were reminding a child that they had done something wrong, “you know he’s not good for you.”_

_Robbie simply shrugged. He didn’t feel like arguing with Dianna, especially when she wasn’t entirely wrong. Glanni wasn’t the best person, not by a long shot, but he was still Robbie’s brother, he’d practically raised him after their father left for the last time._

_“He’s not hurting anyone.” Robbie said, trying to defend his brother as best as he could._

_“I don’t like him, I don’t want you going over there, especially not with Ella, she doesn’t need to be around that shit.” Dianna snapped, voice taking on a forceful commanding tone.  Any disagreements would be met with heavy opposition._

_“I’m not going to stop seeing my brother,” Robbie scoffed, “he’s the only family that I have.”_

_Dianna suddenly turned away from the window, her gaze furious._

_“Oh, is he now?” She snapped, throwing her cigarette butt out of the window and closing it with a loud slam, “What about me?!”_

_Robbie noted that she didn’t mention Ella, only herself._

_“You know what I meant--”_

_“Oh, I understand completely,” Dianna laughed bitterly, cutting Robbie off, “Am I not your fucking family?! I get stuck with you for nearly eight years and you don’t even consider me your fucking family--”_

_“Keep your voice down.” Robbie whispered harshly, not wanting to wake Ella. He didn’t want her to know about their fighting or anything that would ruin her childhood. She deserved so much better._

_Dianna’s mouth twisted shut into a furious grimace, obviously wanting to yell and scream, but knowing that doing so would have serious consequences._

_She stalked forward until she was practically pressed against Robbie. He could smell the smoke on her breath and it took holding his breath so that he wouldn’t gag._

_“I never wanted any of this,” Dianna hissed, her quiet rage somehow even scarier than her shouting, “this isn’t what I wanted with my fucking life. But I’m trying, Robert, I’m trying my goddamn best. So stop treating me like a damn villain, because you’re sure as hell not a hero.”_

_Silence followed her short rant, the atmosphere thick with rage and tension. Dianna finally stepped back after a moment and Robber released the breath he didn’t know he had been holding._

_“I don’t want you talking to your brother,” Dianna said in a soft, gentle voice, all of her anger suddenly gone, “he’s a bad influence on you. I’m worried, that’s all.”_

_Robbie’s heart clenched at the softness in her voice and the vulnerable expression on her face. Her anger scared him so much and their fights left him feeling broken...but he still loved her. He knew their marriage was falling apart, but he still loved Dianna at the end of the day._

_He hoped that if he held on a little longer, compromised and kept his wife happy, that things would start to get better._

_“I’m sorry,” Robbie apologized softly, “I know that you get worried. I just...he’s been the one constant in my life.”_

_Dianna sighed wearily and inched closer so that she could cup Robbie’s cheeks in her hands. They smelled of smoke, but he leaned into her touch anyway. Her hands were soft and delicate, so much different from his own rough, calloused hands. They were the softest thing about her, really…_

_“And I get that, I really do,” Dianna said, almost lovingly, “but you have a wife and a daughter, now. You don’t need him, he doesn’t understand you like I do.”_

_If it had been a few years earlier, Robbie would have disagreed and fought back. But he was tired of fighting, he just wanted things to be alright, for once in his damn life._

 

_“Okay,” Robbie gave in, eyes slipping shut in defeat, “I’m sorry.”_

 

_“I know you are.” Dianna whispered sweetly._


	17. Chapter 17

“She made you stop talking to your brother?” 

“She didn’t  _ make _ me do anything,” Robbie grumbled, “she convinced me that it was the right thing to do, it was all me.”

“She manipulated you,” Sportacus pressed, wanting Robbie to understand that it wasn’t just his fault, “she isolated you so that you couldn’t think differently.”

“I let her control me,” Robbie admitted bitterly, “because it was easier than fighting back. I could have tried harder, been stronger. I was weak.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Sportacus said quickly, almost desperate, “you did what you thought was right, you wanted the best for Ella. You didn’t deserve that.”

Robbie shook his head and shut his eyes tightly, trying to fight the headache threatening his senses. Reliving the memories was difficult, but he was close to finishing, so close to being done. He just had to tell the worst part.

  
  


_ May 17th, Ella’s birthday.  _

_ She was turning eleven, one step closer to being a tween. She was growing into a beautiful young girl, already looking so much like her mother with her piercing eyes and coy smile. _

_ She was still a daddy’s girl at heart, but her behavior had begun to change. Maybe it was a part of growing up, though that didn’t explain everything. Ella had been spending a lot of time with her mother, which should have made Robbie happy, but something wasn’t quite right.  _

_ Dianna would take her aside for hours on end, talking about things he wasn’t allowed to hear or know about. ‘Girl talk’, as Dianna put it. It wouldn’t have bothered him if Ella hadn’t started to avoid him. It stung, yes, but she was young, and he didn’t want to get involved where he wasn’t wanted. _

_ So, like usual, he ignored the hurt and focused entirely on Ella’s birthday, something positive and productive. He had Dianna take Ella out for the day while he decorated the apartment in an abundance of purple, the girl’s favorite color.  _

_ Robbie even went the extra mile and made the birthday cake from scratch. He didn’t do it for dad points or to boost his nonexistent ego, he actually genuinely enjoyed baking. It was a relaxing activity that was technically productive. Leftover cake was always a plus as well.  _

_ He spent a few hours perfecting the cake, attempting to make it look as neat as possible for being made at home. All in all, Robbie worked his ass off to make Ella’s birthday party as close to perfect as possible. And it seemed he had been successful. Ella was all smiles and laughter when she saw the decorated apartment, even more so when her friends from her ballet class showed up with birthday presents and shrill giggling. _

_ The loud talking and shrieking gave Robbie a headache, but it was worth it to see Ella so happy and energetic. _

_ “Dad! Dad! Can we have cake now?!” Ella shouted from the living room, already hyper from the alarming amount of soda she had consumed when her parents weren’t looking. _

_ “After presents, Ella.” _

_ “Can I open my presents now?!”  _

_ Before Robbie could even say yes, Ella’s friends were fighting over who’s present she would open first. The birthday girl decided on a poorly wrapped gift that the giver looked incredibly proud of, proudly announcing that she had wrapped it herself.  _

_ While the girls were distracted, Robbie placed his gift on the smile pile, Dianna following suit with her own gift. Ella barely noticed, too focused on the glittery hair clips she had spilled onto the floor in her excitement to open her present.  _

_ She eventually got to Robbie’s gift, choosing it over Dianna’s on account of its larger size, throwing wrapping paper and ribbon aside as she tore into the present. Her tearing slowed once she saw what lay inside the box, the purple fabric folded neatly at the bottom. Lifting the dress up to get a closer look, Ella’s eyes sparkled -- Robbie quickly took a picture of her awed expression. _

_ He had found a love for dress making and sewing and decided to apply the passion to his daughter’s gift. Robbie had spent months working the dress and it certainly showed. The top of the dress was a plain purple fabric with short sleeves and white lace decorating the neckline. He put the most time into the skirt, layering thick, glittery fabric to create a delicate, yet full shape. It was a pretty dress, but simple enough so that she could wear it regularly, with added elastic to allow her rapid growth. _

_ “Woah, this is so pretty!” Ella gasped, running her hands over the dress, taking in the details, “where did you get it?” _

_ Robbie smiled, happy that Ella liked her present, “I made it, actually.” _

_ “I wish my dad would make me dresses, that’s so cool!” One of Ella’s friends said. _

_ “So cool.” The other girls echoed. _

_ “Thank you, dad, I love it!” Ella grinned, gently placing the dress back in its box. _

_ “Open mommy’s present, Ella.” Dianna cut in, pushing her small gift closer to her daughter. She looked slightly annoyed, though Robbie couldn’t think of why. He was trying to block her out. _

_ Ella tore into the wrapping paper from the gift, revealing a clear, blank CD case with a disk inside. It was one of those blank CDs that you could burn music onto. _

_ On the front, in looping, purple letters, was ‘For Ella’, with a small heart beside the words. _

_ “What is it?” Ella asked. _

_ “A CD.” One of the older girls whispered, looking a bit concerned that her friend didn’t know what a CD was. _

_ “I know it’s a CD,” Ella rolled her eyes, playfully kicking the girl, “I mean what’s on it?” _

_ “It’s a playlist of your favorite ballet songs, plus some extra I thought you would like.” Dianna explained with a proud smile. _

_ “Cool.” Ella said simply, setting aside the CD and scrambling to her feet, “Can we have cake now?” _

_ The other girls cheered in agreement, already rushing towards the kitchen. Robbie had to run to beat them to the birthday cake a light the candles. After an out-of-tune rendition of ‘happy birthday’, Ella blew out the candles with a big smile plastered on her face. _

_ “What did you wish for?” Robbie asked. _

_ Ella shook her head, “If I tell you, it won’t come true.” _

_ Whatever the girl had wished for, Robbie hoped it came true. She deserved it. _   
  
  


_ After the party ended and things quieted down, Robbie slowly began to clean up the mess left behind. Ella was distracted by her presents, still feeling the residual giddyness from the party. She’d already gone through all of her gifts, but had yet to be bored with them. _

_ “Ella, could you go clean up your room?” Robbie asked the girl, remembering all of the excited girls packed into her room during the party. _

_ Ella pouted, “But dad, it’s my birthday.” _

_ “Alright, alright,” Robbie chuckled, “How about this, you clean your room, then we can go get some icecream, how does that sound?” _

_ “Really? Can I wear my dress?” Ella gasped. _

_ “If you promise not to get it dirty, then sure.” _

_ “Seriously?” Dianna scoffed from the living room. She had been silently burning through a pack of cigarettes while her husband and daughter talked, but it seemed that Robbie’s suggestion had caught her interest. _

_ “Is there a problem?” Robbie sighed, knowing the conversation wouldn’t be ending well. _

_ “Oh, it’s nothing,” Dianna snapped, “I just don’t think you should be bribing our kid.” _

_ “What are you talking about? I’m not bribing her, it's her birthday.” Robbie gaped at his wife, wondering where she got the wild idea that he was bribing his own daughter. _

_ Dianna took a long drag from her cigarette, “Don’t play dumb, I know what you’re doing.” _

_ “You’re crazy.” Robbie snapped at her before he could stop himself. _

_ He was met with a long, drawn-out silence that weighed heavy in the stagnant air of the living room.  _

_ "Ella? Go listen to the CD mommy made you, ok? Mommy and daddy need to talk alone for a moment." Dianna called, putting out her cigarette in the ashtray on the windowsill. After Ella had obediently run off to her own bedroom and shut the door, Dianna shot up and grabbed Robbie by his arm, tugging him behind her. _

_ She harshly pulled her husband forward, digging her acrylic nails into his arm when he tried to struggle out of her grasp. He hissed sharply, feeling the skin break and tear beneath the fake nails. _

_ With a shove, Dianna forced Robbie into their bedroom and shut the door behind her calmly, clicking the door shut before turning onto her husband, blocking his only exit with her body. _

_ "What kind of game are you playing, Robert?" She hissed coldly, glare icy and devoid of any warmth. _

_ She only ever called him by his full name when she was angry, making a cold jolt of fear travel through Robbie's gut. _

_ "What do you mean?" Robbie retaliated with more confidence than he felt. _

_ "The ice cream, the dress, the party, that shitty cake -- Are you trying to buy her affection? Because it's not going to work. She hates you." Dianna spat, moving forward slowly to crowd into Robbie's personal space. _

_ "N-no, I'm not buying her affection!" Robbie cried in defense, stumbling back and away from her piercing glare, "I told her I would buy her ice cream if she cleaned her room, that's it!" _

_ "She doesn't need a reward for something as simple as that," Dianna scoffed, "you're so stupid, you obviously don't know how to raise children." _

_ "Neither do you." Robbie spat back. _

_ "I have three younger siblings, Robert, I know how to raise children," Dianna laughed coldly, "you, on the other hand? You're a terrible father, you just have to admit it. This marriage would be easier on the both of us if you did." _

_ "I am not a bad father!" Robbie shouted, anger boiling over, "at least I try! You don't care about Ella, so stop pretending you're so much better than me! Because you're not, you're awful!" _

_ Standing up to Dianna felt good, like accomplishing something almost impossible. Robbie felt a rush of confidence after shouting out his anger and standing up to the woman that had been terrorizing him for so long.. _

_ But the confidence immediately went out the window when Dianna's hand swiftly slapped him across the cheek. It was a brutal slap that caused his head to snap to the side and his body to stumble sideways onto their bed. She wasn't much stronger than him, but he hadn't expected her to strike him. _

_ He gripped his burning cheek in his hand and stared at his wife with tear-filled eyes, but he did not cry.  _

_ He wouldn't give her the satisfaction. _

_ Of course, she was unaffected by what she had just done, calmly walking over to the window and lighting another cigarette, taking slow drags as she stared at the world beyond the apartment. _

_ "Oh, Robert," She giggled after a few long drags from her cigarette, "it's almost as if you think I care what you think. Well, here's a newsflash for you: I don't." _

_ She finally turned to stare at him, frown creasing her cheeks into unpleasant expression, one that Robbie couldn't read. _

_ "Come here." She commanded softly, almost sweetly, crooking her finger towards her own body in a silent order, leaving no room for disobeying. _

_ Robbie didn't know why he listened, why he got up from the bed and stood before her. He towered over the woman, but felt so small as she dug her nails into the soft flesh of his inner wrist. _

_ She smiled sweetly up at him, a smile that Robbie remembered from when they first met, when things were okay and they were still in love. His heart fluttered and Robbie wondered if he could fix their relationship, maybe go back to that love they had felt in high-school. _

_ That sickly sweet smiled stayed constant as she put out her burning cigarette into the pale flesh of his wrist. _

_ When he went to scream and push her away, her free hand came up and slapped him again, quick and filled with less rage, only using it as a means to stun him and keep him quiet. She dug the cigarette into his skin and grinned wickedly until the wisps of smoke disappeared and the bud no longer held any burning heat.  _

_ The cigarette left his skin and she let go of her husband's arm and he stumbled back, missing the bed and falling to the floor, staring at the small circle of melted flesh in shock and horror. The pain, while small and concentrated, was unreal and left him in a state of shock. He couldn't even cry or yell, just gape at the wound in horror and hope he had a long sleeve shirt to wear. _

_ "You seem preoccupied," Dianna hummed, flicking the cigarette bud at him, "don't worry, I'll take Ella out for icecream. I'm sure she won't mind, she likes me more, anyway." _

_ With a smirk, Dianna sauntered out of their room, leaving Robbie alone and numb in the middle of their bedroom floor. _


	18. Chapter 18

The moment Robbie went quiet, too choked up to continue speaking, Sportacus surged forward, pulling the man into a tight hug. He wanted to cry, too, but he had to be strong for Robbie, something solid to ground him in the face of hurt and despair. It was the least that he could do. After everything that had happened to his friend, he just needed to be there for him.

“I’m so sorry, Robbie,” Sportacus whispered into the man’s messy, sweaty hair, resisting the urge to kiss his temple like he did when Stephanie was upset to comfort her, “You’re okay. You’re gonna be okay.”

Robbie bit back a sob as he wrapped his arms around Sportacus’ broad back, gripping the back of his shirt tightly in a white knuckled grip. If he let go, he’d be there again, with Dianna’s cold stare and lit cigarette.

“I-I didn’t stop her,” He choked out, still fighting back tears, “I never did. She always acted so much nicer afterwards, so I thought it was easier to let her hurt me like that.”

“It’s not your fault,” Sportacus repeated for what felt like the hundredth time, though that didn’t make it any less true.

“It would’ve all ended eventually, I just wanted things to be normal,” Robbie hiccuped, “I wanted to try and make it work, for Ella.”

“You did everything you could, Robbie. You did your best.”

Robbie nodded into the bunched up fabric of Sportacus’ shirt. Strong arms tightened around him, firm and comforting. For awhile the two remained quiet, neither man wanting to break the comforting moment.

Sportacus pulled away first, though only by a few inches, far enough to look at his friend, “Do you want to stop?”

“I’m okay,” Robbie said after taking a long, deep breath and blinking away the last of his tears, “that was the worst part, everything else is more sad than fucked up.”

“It’s all pretty messed up, Robbie.”

“Don’t you mean ‘fucked up’?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Say it, I dare you.” Robbie grinned suddenly, eyes shining mischievously.

Sportacus sighed in fake exasperation, “If it’ll make you happy.”

“Yes it would. Very much so.”

“...it’s really fucked up, Robbie.”

Sportacus didn’t like how the word felt leaving his mouth, yet he still found himself grinning at the absurdity of it. The way Robbie laughed made him smile as well, how his face creased in some form of joy at something as simple as him saying a curse word.

Robbie scrubbed his eyes to clear his vision of residual tears, “Oh, man, I needed that. Who knew you had such a filthy mouth?”

Sportacus rolled his eyes and playfully shoved his friend’s shoulder. He barely touched the man, but Robbie gasped and fell back in an over-dramatic fashion.

“He’s mean, too, who would have guessed?”

Sportacus was happy to have a moment of humor in the wake of such a grim retelling of Robbie’s former marriage. He would have been glad to continue like that, carefree with his closest friend, but he knew that wasn’t realistic.

“Do you want to keep going?” He asked Robbie gently.

His answer was a weary sigh as Robbie sat up, no longer looking miserable, but not appearing overly eager, either. 

“Yeah, might as well,” Robbie shrugged,

“Things continued like that for nearly half a year, back and forth between okay times and Dianna snapping, then taking it out on me. I made myself accept it, I thought I deserved it. So, I didn’t put a stop to it.”

 

_ The burns became harder to hide as the months passed by.  _

_ When there were only three or so, Robbie could easily hide them with a bandage or two, sometimes simply being conscious of how he moved his arms and how he placed them was enough. _

_ But the numbers of burns and bruises increased faster than Robbie could hide them. They spread to the top of his arms, nearly to his elbow. He began to dread the very sight of them, as they reminded him of his failures as a husband, a man, a person, and a father. His arms became the manifestation of all he had done wrong in his life. _

__ _ The day Ella noticed one of the burns he’d forgotten to cover, he immediately changed into a long-sleeved shirt. After that, he refused to leave his arms visible. Any short-sleeved shirts he owned were quickly shoved into the back of his closet. _

__ _ He’d gotten used to hiding, keeping to himself as to not draw attention to himself. _

__ _ Dianna had seemed to be in better spirits, at least. She went out more often with her coworkers and was in a better mood more often than not. She still had her bad days, where Robbie could barely stand to be in the same room as her, but they seemed to occur less and less. _

__ _ He wasn’t happy by any means, but at least things were getting better. _

 

_ Or, so he thought. _

 

_ Robbie had finished up some repair work on a combination of clothes and electronics late one night. He hadn’t meant to work so late, but he had desperately needed the distraction, anything to get his mind off of what his life had become. _

_ He quietly shuffled towards his and Dianna’s shared bedroom, ready to pass out and let his exhaustion give him a night of dreamless sleep. He expected to find his wife asleep in their bed with the lights off and nothing amiss. _

_ Instead he was met with suitcases, the closet thrown open and the dresser looking gutted and bare. _

_ “What the…” Robbie muttered, confused, frozen in place, “Dianna? What’s going on?” _

_ His wife’s head poked out from behind the bed, a pair of shoes in her grip. She didn’t appear to be upset, just shocked to see Robbie in the room. _

_ “Oh, fuck, I thought you fell asleep in your work room.” Dianna huffed, clearly annoyed at Robbie’s appearance.  _

_ “What are you doing?” Robbie asked slowly, trying very hard to not think the worst, but ultimately losing to his own negative thinking. _

_ “Packing.” _

_ “But...why?” _

_ Dianna huffed out an impatient breath, throwing the pair of shoes into her suitcase harder than necessary.  _

_ “I had a damn note written so I wouldn’t have to deal with you and your meltdown,” She snapped, “but I guess that’s out the fuckin’ window. Don’t stupid, Robbie. I’m leaving you, I want a divorce.” _

_ Robbie’s heart plummeted, though it didn’t shatter. There wasn’t much left to be broken, but that didn’t stop his chest from aching. _

_ “Y-You can’t leave,” Robbie stuttered out, “Wh-What about Ella?!” _

_ “She’ll live, kids go through divorces all the time and turn out fine,” Ella deadpanned, “this has nothing to do with her. I’m thinking about myself and what I want, for once.” _

_ Robbie wanted to spit out some venomous remark about how she had been doing that for years, but held his tongue. He didn’t want to appear irrational and add to Dianna’s reasons to leave, “You can’t just quit now, after everything that’s happened!” _

_ “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do,” Dianna spat viciously, “I’ve been planning this for a long ass time. So just drop the emotional bullshit and this whole thing can be quick and painless.” _

_ Robbie was getting pretty pissed off with her dismissal of the extreme situation she had thrown at him. She couldn’t possibly think that something as severe as divorce would be so simple. _

_ “Where would you even go?” _

_ Dianna contemplated her answer, lips pursed and she tried to think of what to say, whether to lie or spit the brutal, cruel truth. Her decision was made after a moment, face set in a hard, sour frown. _

_ “I wasn’t going to tell you. Believe it or not, I don’t want you going into crisis mode,” Dianna laughed hollowly, “but you’re making this really difficult for me, you have been for a long time.” _

_ “I’m moving in with Don, from my work,” She explained simply, eyes skirting around the floor anxiously, “he asked me to move in with him a few months ago. I’ve been seeing him for awhile.” _

_ Robbie didn’t know what to say, his words seemingly stolen from him, any response gone with the feeling of being punched in the gut, forcing the air from his lungs. He had known Dianna was unhappy...but the thought of her cheating on him seemed like a cruel joke or something from his nightmares. He could feel himself choking as panic coursed through his veins, wrenching bitter tears from his bloodshot eyes. _

_ Dianna ignored the pitiful noises coming from her husband, focusing instead on slamming her luggage close and checking around her to see she hadn’t missed anything. Having to come back for any of her forgotten things seemed like it would be awkward for everyone, so she’d rather avoid coming back to the apartment. _

_ “What am I going to without you?” Robbie finally managed to choke out, “you can’t leave me, Dianna, please.” _

_ He began to cry then, not even trying to stifle the pained sobs being wrenched from his lungs, crackling past his trembling lips. _

_ “Please…” He gasped, “I love you, Dianna, please…” _

_ Dianna paused and finally looked up. Her expression was no longer that of annoyance, but something different. Her expression spoke so many confusing emotions, all laced with pain and regret. She looked so tired, worn out. A heavy sigh came from her as she looked away, unable to look her husband in the eye. _

 

_ “I...I don’t think I ever loved you, Robbie. I’m...I’m sorry.” _   
  



	19. Chapter 19

Sportacus moved without thinking, too overcome with his own cursed empathy. He grasped Robbie’s face in his own shaking hands, on the verge of tears as he wallowed in his dear friend’s misery.

“Robbie…” Sportacus whispered, at a loss for anything comforting to say.

So, instead, he acted.

He acted on instinct, with his heart, doing the first thing his being commanded him to do.

He kissed Robbie. It was soft, gentle, but heavy with underlying desperation to heal and convey how much he wanted him. Robbie’s lips were wet with tears he had not wiped away, the salty taste bringing more tears to Sportacus’ eyes.

His brain caught up with him eventually, leaving Sportacus horribly embarrassed by his own actions. He made to pull away and apologize furiously, but Robbie stopped him.

Trembling palms planted themselves over his own hands cupping Robbie’s face, so slender and pale in comparison. Robbie pulled him back for another kiss, even more desperate as they met in the middle. Sportacus’ mouth parted out of instinct, the taste of tears so much stronger as his tongue traced his friend’s lips. Robbie gasped softly and allowed Sportacus entry, a moan escaping him as his tongue explored his mouth hesitantly. 

They could have stayed that way forever, it not for the need to breathe and the words that say unspoken between them, begging to be acknowledged. 

Robbie pulled away first, cheeks flushed and chest heaving. Sportacus was in a similar state, looking shocked, but pleased nonetheless.

“I...uh,” He stammered out, tan cheeks growing very, very pink, “that…”

“Yeah.” Robbie finished, at a loss for words himself. 

Sportacus laughed lightly, disbelieving and giddy after doing what he had been thinking about for weeks. He laughed also at the very sudden nature of his actions, feeling slightly embarrassed by his own desperation.

“What are you laughing about?” Robbie asked with a chuckle, perhaps even a it self-conscious.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been thinking about kissing you,” Sportacus grinned, “was that okay?”

Robbie hummed in agreement, “Can’t say that I hated it, even with all of the tears and snot. Might have to try again, so I can gather more data and make a sound decision.” 

Sportacus laughed again, so happy to feel something other than second hand despair. “You’re so silly.”

Robbie shook his head, “We both are. How did it take so long for us to do something about this?”

He gestured vaguely between them before Sportacus caught his hand in midair, holding it tenderly in his own warm palm.

“Robbie,” He spoke softly, sweetly, “Will you be my boyfriend?”

Robbie absolutely did not tear up at the question. His eyes were completely dry as he sniggled and smiled with trembling lips. To prove that he totally had to together, Robbie shoved Sportacus off of the bed. Sportacus hit the floor with a thump and a very manly squeak.

Robbie laughed and wiped away something that wasn’t a tear from beneath his eye, “ Do you really have to ask?”

Sportacus’ head popped up from the side of the bed, “I’d never live it down if I didn’t ask you.” 

Robbie reached over and ruffled his new boyfriend’s hair, “Yes, you idiot, I’ll be your stupid boyfriend.”   
  


\- - - - - - -  

Ella hated being confused. It didn't matter what she was confused about, school, homework, adult stuff, it was a stupid, terrible feeling.

Which was bad, because she was incredibly confused at the moment.

She had been trying to not think about her mom and what happened before she moved to Lazytown, but it had been getting harder to ignore.

She loved her mom, missed living with her and talking to her. For months Ella waited for her mom to call her, talk to her, like she had promised. Every time the phone rang, her heart raced in her chest, only to plummet when it wasn't her mom on the other end.

She thought about calling first, but it didn't feel right. What if her mom was busy? She hated being bothered when she was busy, so calling seemed like a bad idea. She also didnt know if her number was the same as before.

A second reason floated dangerously in the back of Ella’s mind. What if her mom just didn't want to talk to her?

She was out there living her own life, surely she wouldn't want Ella butting in and ruining everything. 

There was another layer to Ella’s confusion, standing out against the minor frustrations.

She was...happy.

She'd grown close to Stephanie and her other friends, school was actually going alright, she fought with her dad less and less...overall, things were amazing.

But it felt wrong. Her mom was gone, so how could she be happy if she wasn't with her mom? Ella wanted to be happy and content with her life, more than anything, but it felt like a betrayal to be okay without her mom.

What would she say if she knew Ella was doing great without her? Surly she’d be angry.

...Maybe she was already mad. She hadn't called or visited. Ella hadn't seen or heard from her since she'd left that night, did she not care?

She hadn't meant to be caught leaving, either. She wasn't even going to say goodbye. That hurt, a lot.

It was that fact that brewed anger inside of Ella, made her question her trust in her own mother.

For the longest time, Ella had blamed Robbie for the divorce, for her mom leaving. She had been so angry with him, she had  _ hated _ him. In her mind, he had taken her away from her mother, her home, her friends, everything that she had known to be normal. 

Ella felt special whenever her mother would confuse in her after a long day, venting her frustrations about work, her boss, her coworkers...and Robbie.

That was her favorite thing to complain about and Ella was glad to listen. Her mom was almost never home, or if she was she was asleep or having ‘alone time’, so spending time together was special, important to Ella.

...even if it was just her mom complaining the entire time. It just meant that she trusted Ella with her secrets and frustrations.

Or maybe she knew that Ella would keep her mouth shut. Her mom had said some nasty things about her coworkers, even worse about her dad.

Maybe she was so desperate for her mother’s attention that she had started to believe the things she said, even if they weren't true.

_ “Your dad’s been getting on my last nerve. He’s so whiny, all he does is complain, complain, complain. He gets to stay home all day, what does he have to complain about. He doesn't even have a real job, messing around with computer crap and sewing dumb clothes.”  _

Ella didn't think Robbie complained that much, far less than Dianna, actually. She didn't dare say that though, mumbling out a “yeah” in agreement.

But the more she heard about her dad’s shortcomings through Dianna’s view, the more Ella was inclined to believe them to be true.

Ella wasn't around her mom anymore, though, hadn't spoken to her in nearly a year. For the first time in awhile, Ella could think her own thoughts.

Robbie’s fainting spell left Ella worried and scared for his well being. Deep down, she knew he was going to be okay...but it had her thinking. What is something bad happened or if he was hurt? Or...if he died?

She realized then that she loved her dad, that she didn't hate him like she had been convinced into believing.

Instead, she hated her mom. That was the only way to describe what she was feeling. Her mother hurt her, abandoned her, lied to her.

Ella returned to the apartment to wait and see if her dad would be okay, full to the brim with nervous, anxious energy. Her thoughts were jumbled and she couldn't seem to relax or calm herself. Almost out of instinct, she began to fuss with her boombox, desperate for a distraction.

She switched the boombox on and a familiar, string heavy sing drifted from the speakers.She froze. Her moms CD was still in the disk player, probably the worst thing to listen to when she was already feeling so angry and conflicted. 

Struck with a sudden, burning rage, Ella violently ejected the CD, handling the offending disk in shaking hands. The beautiful music was tainted, sullied by her anger towards her mom.

She threw the disk on the floor without care and brought her foot down with all of the fierce she could manage.

She continued to stomp on the disk until only jagged, shining shards remained.

_ \- -  - - -  - - - _

_ It had been very late at night, Ella remembered with sharp clarity, 2AM possibly. She’d woken up suddenly and decided she wanted a glass of water, a mundane beginning to one of the worst moments of her life up to that point. _

_ Her glass was only half full when her mother shuffled into the connected living room. Ella hadn’t bothered to turn the lights on, so she was unnoticed by Dianna in the dark. She wouldn’t have questioned her mother’s presence, had it not been for the large amount of luggage she was dragging behind her.  _

_ “Mom?” Ella spoke up softly, eyeing both the bags and her mother suspiciously.  _

_ Dianna froze, nearly dropping one of her bags. She grimaced, looking annoyed and uncomfortable at being caught by the girl. _

_ “What are you doing up? It’s late, go to bed.” Dianna said quickly, setting down her bags and stepping in front of them to try and hide what Ella had already clearly seen. _

_ “I was…” Ella trailed off, feeling like she was the one doing something weird, not her mother, “are you going somewhere?” _

_ Dianna looked thoroughly uncomfortable, ger hands fidgeting as she tried to come up with a fitting answer, “Yes, I’m going somewhere.” _

_ “Can I come?” Ella pressed, leaving the kitchen to stand closer to her mom. _

_ “No, you can’t come with me. You have to stay with your dad.” Dianna sighed. _

_ “I don’t want to stay here, I want to go with you--” _

_ “--Ella, I’m not going to argue with you, you’re staying here--” _

_ “--But I don’t want to! I want to come with--” _

_ “--You can’t come with me because I’m not coming back!” Dianna finally snapped, her voice a low, venomous hiss. _

_ Ella flinched away, afraid. Her mom never snapped at her, only at her dad. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but she did not cry, in case her tears angered her mom further.  _

_ Dianna realized her mistake and shrunk back, looking disturbed by her actions, but making no move to comfort her upset daughter. _

_ “You have to stay here, sweetie,” She sighed, “your dad and I aren't going to be married anymore. I'm going live somewhere else. It's for the best.” _

_ “I don't want to stay here!” Ella sniffled, “I want to come with you, mom. Don't make me stay here.” _

_ Ella’s begging didn't seem to affect Dianna. Her fingers rubbed at her temples, brow pinched in frustration. _

_ “You can't come with me,” Dianna said, voice offering no room for argument, “I have to go live my life, you wouldn't understand, sweetheart.”  _

_ Ella could no longer hold back her tears, sobs choking the words in her throat, “Wh-Why can't I be in your life? I know you don't want to be with dad, but why do I have to be alone with him?!” _

_ “Oh, honey,” Dianna whispered, kneeling in front of the girl and tugging her closer by her hand, “I'm still your mom, I'll always be apart of your life. I'm just taking a break, that's all.” _

_ Ella couldn't understand. Moms didn't take breaks. No matter how sweetly she spoke, Ella knew she was leaving her behind. She hasn't even planned on telling her, or saying goodbye. She hadn't meant to be caught. _

_ “Pl-Please don't leave me,” Ella sobbed, surging forward and desperately embracing her mother, “don't leave me with dad, please mom. Please stay.”  _

_ “It's not your fault, baby.” Dianna whispered into her daughter’s hair, rocking her slightly where they stood, “your dad just doesn't make me happy, so I have to go. I need to be happy.” _

_ It was left unspoken, but Ella felt it in her heart, loud and ringing in her chest and mind. _

_ You don't make me happy. _

_ Ella wanted to scream, throw something, break everything in sight to let her mom know how much her words hurt.  _

_ But she did nothing. A single tear slipped down her cheek, almost painful with how many emotions were trapped inside, begging for expression. _

_ “I-I'm not happy either, mom,” She whispered, voice cracking and wavering, barely intelligible. _

_ Dianna gave a strained smile, “You don't mean that. You're young, you've got your best years in front of you. I never got to chance to enjoy my best years.”  _

_ She kissed her daughter on the temple, as if that cleared up everything for Ella. _

_ It didn't. _

_ Dianna grabbed her bags and hugged Ella before she left, promising to call the next chance she got. Ella was left alone in the dark, both empty and filled to the brim with warring misery. _

_ The abandonment had yet to sink in. There was only numbness. _

_ Glass of water forgotten, Ella went back to bed. _

_ Things would be different in the morning, she knew that she needed to enjoy her last moments of calm.  _


	20. Chapter 20

Robbie later returned to his apartment feeling better than he had in years, despite the heat exhaustion still weighing his limbs down and giving him a slight headache.That didn’t matter, though,  as his heart soared far beyond his tired body, feeling mended after so many years of remaining shattered. 

He couldn't stop the grin that was stretched across his face. It hurt a bit, considering he very rarely smiled, let alone grinned, but he couldn't find it in himself to care.

The apartment was quiet, but for once, it didn't feel lonely. Things weren't entirely okay, it would be awhile before that,for a moment, though, everything felt right in his life.

Robbie decided to put his sudden burst of energy to use by cleaning up the apartment. Nothing crazy, considering he was still a bit woozy. just enough to make the place look decent. 

He started with the dishes piled in the sink -- they were a disgusting eyesore that he could never find the energy to tackle. Sure, he might've gagged at the smell and the feeling of the mushy, leftover food on the plates, but he got it done. After that traumatizing experience, the rest of the apartment would be a breeze to clean.

He tackled the trash next; it wasn't full, but he would have preferred it empty and wanted to get it out of the way. He pried the lid and moved to evict the garbage from it’s home, but something caught his eye. A pointed shard of something silver and shining stuck out amongst the other trash. He reached in to investigate, finding several more beneath, all with hints of purple writing. Piecing the largest of the shards together, they formed the remnant of what was once a disk. He recognized the handwriting immediately, the pieces falling into place.

“Ella?” Robbie called towards his daughter’s room.

There was a loud thud, followed by the sound of someone struggling with a doorknob. Ella burst through her bedroom door and stumbled into the kitchen, breathless and panting. 

“You're not dead!” She exclaimed, running forward to hug her dad tightly around his middle.

Robbie was shocked by her excitement at his presence and patted her head slowly, “Uh, yeah, I'm alive. You seem…oddly happy about that.”

Ella seemed to have realized that her outburst was very out of character and jumped back quickly, looking anxious, “I-I mean...I don't want you to be dead. That would kind of suck.”

Robbie smiled, happy that she was starting to show some genuine emotion. He had something else on his mind, though. Namely, the CD.

“Did you break your CD?” He asked, holding up one of the shards.

Ella scowled at the shining shard, like it was the cause of everything bad in the world.

“Yeah, I smashed it.”

“...On accident?”

“Nope.”

Robbie sighed and tossed the shard into the garbage bag; there was no use holding onto it.

“Why would you do that? You love that CD.”

“Not anymore,” Ella frowned, crossing her arms and staring at her feet, “it makes me think about mom. If she won't think about me, I don't want to think about her.”

For once, she didn't cry. She had no tears left for her mom, not after realizing that she didn't deserve them.

Robbie hesitated before pulling his daughter close to him, enveloping her in a tight embrace. The pain his little girl felt hurt him deeply. He had never wanted her to be hurt by her mother, in any shape or form, even if it meant making himself a target.

And yet, there he was, holding Ella as she admitted to a misery so deep, it had no room left to cut. Her apathy concerned him, but her honesty made up for his worry.

A deep sigh escaped him once he finally pulled away, “I get where you're coming from, I really do, I'm just not exactly in the sentimental dad headspace right now, you know that's not my style.”

He was only half serious, if even that. It did to trick though, as Ella let out a quick giggle at her father’s words.

“Seriously, though, it hurts when someone you love doesn't give you the attention you need. Waiting for them hurts, you can't keep waiting for them. You can't confront them, either, because they aren't even aware of what they're doing, they have to realize it on their own.”

Ella was nodding in agreement, but Robbie wasn't quite done.

“But...you can't completely give up on them, because you never know when or if they'll come back around and realize they were wrong to hurt you,” Robbie spoke from countless experience, hoping that Ella could understand what he was trying to get across, “Ella, I'm glad you're distancing yourself from the past and letting yourself be happy, but please don't give up on your mom, wait as long as you can before you close that door.”

The girl quiet, looking lost in her own thoughts. She didn't appear defeated or upset, if anything, she looked more at ease than she had been earlier.

“Okay, dad,” Ella nodded after a moment, “I'll try and give it some time.”

Robbie smiled, pride blooming in his chest, “Look at you, all mature and stuff. Where did my little girl go?”

Ella flushed pink and blew a loud raspberry at her father.

“Nevermind, I found her.”   
  
  


 

Stephanie tiptoed carefully into her apartment, uncertain if her dad was still looking after Robbie. She desperately wanted to check on the man, just to see if he was okay to put her mind at ease, but knew better than to interrupt whatever her father was doing.

Instead she idled in the living room, absentmindedly drinking water to have something to do with her hands.

She didn't have to wait long has Sportacus exited his bedroom, a smile stretched across his features.

“Oh, Stephanie! Hi!” Sportacus jumped when he spotted his daughter, “When did you get home?”

“Just now. How's Robbie, is he okay?”

Sportacus smiled softly, maybe a bit more than necessary, “He's just fine, he left a few minutes ago. All he needs is to rest and cool off and he'll be good as new.”

Stephanie hummed, satisfies with her father’s answer. Though, she still remained curious, how could she not? Sportacus was an overall cheerful person, but he appeared to be in particularly great mood, despite the less than great circumstances of the day. 

“You seem happy.” Stephanie commented, a bit accusatory, hoping to find a reason for her dad's elevated mood. 

“I guess I am,” Sportacus grinned with the barest hint of what sounded like a giggle, “but I'm usually happy, that's nothing new.”

“Daaaaaad,” Stephanie whined, “I know something happened, I wanna know!”

Sportacus’ cheeks grew pink and he grinned sheepishly, “You know me too well, Stephanie…"

Stephanie poked her dad in the chest, urging him to just  _ tell her already _ .

“Now, I want you to keep this secret for now,” Sportacus said softly, slightly more serious than just moments ago, “because this is something I need to tell people myself, okay?”

Stephanie nodded enthusiastically, “I'll keep it a secret, I promise! Now tell me, please, please, pretty please--”

“Alright, alright,” Sportacus laughed at his daughter's enthusiasm, “...I kissed Robbie...and he’s my boyfriend now.”

There was a long beat of silence that sent a sharp spike of insecurity through Sportacus. Once the information had sunk in, though, Stephanie's eyes sparkled with excitement and any trace of worry quickly left him.

“Oh my gosh!” Stephanie squealed, throwing herself forward to hug her dad, “I'm so happy!”

Sportacus eagerly returned the hug, elated by his daughter's approval and overall excitement.

“Why does that make you happy?” 

“Well, it makes you happy, duh,” Stephanie explained with an exaggerated eyeroll, “plus, you  _ obviously _ liked him for a long time, even I could see that.”

Sportacus laughed lightly and shook his head. His little girl was so smart, he could hardly believe it sometimes. She had yet to experience so much of the world, and yet she was so wise for her age already.

“Thank you, Stephanie,” Sportacus smiled, leaning farther down to hug his daughter tenderly, “it means a lot to me.”

“I'm just happy you two finally realized you  _ like _ like each other,” Stephanie giggled, “you were really obvious.”

That got Sportacus’ attention. Had he been so infatuated with Robbie that his nearly ten-year-old daughter noticed before he did? He smiled sheepishly, feeling his ears growing red, “How come you didn't say anything? I'm sure we could have used the help.”

Stephanie shrugged, “Some things you have to figure out for yourself.”

Sportacus knew he had been blessed with a bright girl for a daughter. 

He was so, so lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was a little worried about Robbie's advice to Ella, but know that I am speaking from personal experience from an absentee parent. This is my personal view on the matter and I understand if anyone disagrees with me.


	21. Chapter 21

The beginning of Sportacus and Robbie's relationship was somewhat awkward, to say the least. Robbie's previous marriage left him uncertain of his own actions and his place in the relationship. On top of that, Robbie hadn't been with someone that cared about him as much as Sportacus for as long as he could dare to remember. Sportacus felt like the first. Firsts were always difficult.

On Sportacus’ side of things, he found himself overly cautious of Robbie's boundaries, especially after hearing the details of his painful marriage. He was scared to hurt his boyfriend and end something that had only just happened.

But all difficulties aside, it was the best thing that had happened to them in a long time.

At the end of the day, when they found themselves cuddled close in either of their bedrooms, all they could do was laugh at their insecurities and fears soft kisses and gentle caresses. They weren't perfect and that was perfectly okay. 

Stephanie was great at keeping their relationship a secret, though she couldn't hide her smile when she saw her father and Robbie casually brushing hands or standing closer to each other than usual. She was incredibly supportive of her father's relationship, not just for his sake, but out of genuine happiness for the men. Even she knew that they were good for eachother.

But still, Robbie found himself anxious over the thought of being open about their relationship. The children were finally comfortable around him and he could tolerate them just fine with minimal headaches. He didn't know what they would think of him dating their personal hero, their role model. They may have been young, but rejection from them would hurt all the same. 

And Ella...Robbie knew his heart would break if she didn't approve. She had finally started to open up and he was terrified of ruining the progress that they had made.

So Robbie finally did something smart, for once. He confessed his fears to his boyfriend while they were cuddled close on his couch in the comforting glow of the late afternoon shining through the living room window. It was quiet, as Stephanie and Ella were playing at Stingy’s apartment.

“I know I'm being unreasonable,” Robbie sighed after confessing his jumbled feelings to Sportacus, “I'm just scared. I try to think of the positives, but all I can think of are the worst case scenarios.”

Sportacus’ eyes softened and he took one of Robbie's hands into his own, kissing his knuckles in a soothing gesture.

“That's not unreasonable at all, Robbie, this is important to you, you're allowed to be nervous,” Sportacus said gently in an attempt to comfort his boyfriend, “you're not alone in this, I'm here for you.”

Robbie couldn't help but smile at his boyfriend’s comforting words. He was still scared of what might have happened, yet Sportacus made him feel better, less anxious.

“I think I'll tell Ella tonight, get it over with,” Robbie said after taking a deep, stabilizing breath, ridding himself of the tightness his anxiety had formed in his chest, “I'll remember what you said better, too, that'll help.”

Sportacus smiled brightly and pulled Robbie over, kissing him quickly, “Do you want me to stay?”

Robbie considered it for a moment. He felt that he should tell Ella himself, but he wondered if he really needed to do it  _ alone _ . He wasn't alone anymore and if Ella accepted Sportacus into her life, she wouldn't have to be either. Maybe if Sportacus was there with him, she could better comprehend the relationship with it right in front of her. 

It sounded a lot better than going in alone. 

“Yeah, actually, that's not a horrible idea,” Robbie said softly, “I'm sure it would help her better understand to actually see us together than just be told. She's like me, very visual when it comes to information.”

Sportacus twisted to look at the clock on Robbie's stove in the nearby kitchen, then turned back to his boyfriend. 

“The girls should be getting back soon, are you ready?” Sportacus said with a small, encouraging smile.

“Hmm, I don't know,” Robbie hummed teasingly with a quirk of an eyebrow for emphasis, “I think I need some more  _ encouragement. _ ”

Sportacus did not hesitate to take the bait and kissed Robbie breathless for several long minutes before pulling away and admiring his boyfriend’s flushed cheeks.

“Better?”

Robbie cleared his throat and tugged at his collar to rid himself of some of the sudden warmth that flooded through him. “Much.”   
  


 

Ella and Stephanie left Stingy’s apartment in a fit of joyful giggles, laughing at the events of their playdate with their friend. Stingy had offered up some of his new toys to play with as a friendly gesture, but didn't seem very enthusiastic about his decision and spent most of the time looking conflicted and on the verge of cracking.

It may have been mean to laugh, but Stingy was clearly trying very hard to be generous, making the situation so much more amusing as the boy struggled with himself. They did eventually tell Stingy that they didn't have to play with his toys and had to stifle their laughter when the boy seemed to melt as the tension left his body. He sheepishly told them that he wanted to get better at sharing, but was having a hard time doing so. As funny as it was, the girls found his efforts very touching.

Their fathers were waiting for them at Robbie's apartment when they returned, both speaking quietly on the living room couch, close enough that their shoulders were touching.

Ella wasn't blind, she had quickly noticed that her father and Sportacus had become considerably closer recently, in all meanings of the word. She wasn't complaining in the slightest, her father seemed a whole lot happier since the day he collapsed outside and was basically rescued by Sportacus. It was a weird sequence of events, but whatever, adults were weird. 

Robbie heard the door shut and scooted the the other side of the couch, expression pinched with something Ella recognized as nervousness. 

“Hey, girls!” Sportacus greeted, “did you two have fun?”

“Yep! Did you and Robbie have fun?” Stephanie responded with a bright smile.

Sportacus gave a shy grin for an answer and Robbie’s cheeks grew notably darker. Ella knew she was missing something…

Robbie and Sportacus shared a glance before agreeing on something without speaking. Robbie took a deep breath, seeming to ready himself for something before addressing Stephanie and Ella.

“Why don't you two sit down?” Robbie asked, shifting closer to Sportacus and patting the empty space on the couch, “I...we have something to tell you.”

Ella looked to Stephanie, checking to see if the other girl was feeling the suspicion that she did. Stephanie simply shrugged and gestured to the couch, taking a seat without a word, leaving space for Ella to sit next to Robbie. She took the seat slowly, wondering if she was the only one put off by the whole situation.

Robbie looked so nervous, Ella couldn't help it as her mind flashed a million different possibilities through her mind. Were they moving again? Did her mom want to take her back? Her dad hadn't even said anything yet and Ella thought the worst.

“Hey, hey, hey…” Robbie said gently, noticing his daughter’s sudden panic, “it's nothing bad, I swear, you're okay.”

“What is it then? You're really freaking me out.” Ella managed past the lump in her throat. She distantly felt Stephanie squeeze her hand, but was too focused on her dad to appreciate the gesture.

Robbie gently rubbed between the girl's shoulder blades, both to comfort her and to keep one of his fidgeting hands occupied. Ella felt exposed with everyone’s eyes on her, prompting her to tuck herself closer to her father’s side.

“So...Sportacus.” Robbie began awkwardly, gesturing to the man beside him.

“Yeah..? What about him?” 

“Well, he and I, uh...we, um…”

“Dad,” Ella cut off, smacking her dad lightly on the shoulder, “get to the point before I have a heart attack.”

“Okay, okay, got it, I'm getting there,” Robbie chuckled nervous, forcing his shoulders to relax, “We're dating. Me and Sportacus. Boyfriend-Boyfriend, the whole shebang.”

Ella blinked in shock, definitely not what she had expected. Way better than what she expected, actually, by a long shot. She looked over to Sportacus, wanting to see his reaction to the whole thing. The man simply nodded and gave Robbie's shoulder a squeeze. They were waiting for her to speak.

“Really? That's it?” Ella asked, “that's what you were so nervous about telling me?”

“...yes?”

Ella laughed and shoved her dad’s arm, “I swear, you always get so worked up over nothing. Why would I be upset with you dating Sportacus? Sportacus is pretty cool.”

Sportacus grinned, “You think I'm cool?”

Ella laughed and shook her head, “I already regret saying that.”

“I'm never gonna hear the end of it.” Stephanie giggled.

“Seriously though, dad, why were you so nervous about telling me?” Ella said, bringing the conversation to it's more serious tone.

Robbie ran a hand over his face and through his hair, heaving a deep sigh.

“Well, I wasn't sure if you'd be mad at me for dating so soon after your mom,” Robbie explained solemnly, “I didn't want you to be unhappy.”

Robbie looked so sad and desperate, not a look that should have come with the announcement of getting into a relationship. Her dad cared so much and Ella felt dumb for having not realized it before. He was willing to sacrifice his own happiness just so that his daughter wouldn't be unhappy. 

“I can't blame you, if it were a couple of months ago, I probably would've raised hell,” Ella said honestly with a small shrug, giving her father a guilty smile, “but things are different now, dad, you don't have to be scared of upsetting me, I'm not gonna leave you.”

Her confession had an immediate reaction from Robbie. His lip trembled as he fought back tears, but quickly lost that battle when Ella enveloped him in a tight hug. 

“I'm not crying,” Robbie spoke thickly through very obvious tears, “I've got something in my eye.”

Sportacus looked on with misty eyes, sharing a smile with Stephanie across the couch. The girl joined in on Ella and Robbie's hug, barely managing to wrap her arms around the two of them.

“I'm not gonna leave you either, Robbie,” Stephanie spoke up, resting her head on the man's, “Ella is my friend and so are you!”

Stephanie looked up at her dad and Sportacus took the hint, wrapping his arms around Robbie while managing to rest a hand on Ella and his daughter.

“We're all here for you, Robbie,” Sportacus said softly, placing a kiss on his crying boyfriend’s temple, “you're not getting rid of us any time soon.”

Robbie found himself enveloped by love, so much more than he had ever experienced all at once. He was overwhelmed, but in the best way possible, a wide smile stretching across his tear-stained face. Ella looked up at her dad to see him looking happier than ever, regardless of the tears streaming down his face. She couldn't recall a time where he had looked so happy, distinctly remembering the shell of a human she had lived with while they stayed in her uncle Glanni's apartment. 

He had been broken then. 

But now?

He was home. 

 


	22. Chapter 22

With that, the lives of the two small families intertwined and fell into place. While some pieces may not have fit quite right and maybe some of the colors were off, the overall picture was a happy one.

It took some time, but soon Robbie and Sportacus found themselves becoming more public with their relationship. They weren't shouting it from the mountaintops, but Sportacus was eager to show off his new boyfriend to the world, especially online. Sportacus was a little selfie obsessed, but Robbie would never complain about being in the same frame as his beautiful boyfriend, along with the supportive comments that flooded each candid photo. 

In fact, Robbie was proud of Sportacus’ openness, remembering his internalized shame when he had first came out as gay to him. He certainly didn't mind the affection, either. 

Robbie was growing too, it seemed. The relationship itself was progress already, but it didn't end there. He laughed and smiled more often after finally opening up and allowing Sportacus into his mending heart. After so many years of being weighed down by his physical and emotional scars, he could finally breathe again. He still had some negative reactions to touch or strong emotions, but he was improving, dammit.

He was ready to take his life back, the life that had been taken from him, one step at a time.

 

“I've been thinking about inviting Glanni over.” Robbie announced one day, voice quiet as he tested against his boyfriend’s warm, bare chest. Sportacus was a wiggle worm, but made an excellent pillow when he managed to lie still.

“Oh really?” Sportacus hummed, voice vibrating through his chest and beneath Robbie’s head, “It's been awhile since you two last talked, right?”

Robbie nodded, “Not since we left his place. He let us stay with him for so long I assumed he wanted some time to himself. He's not really the type to call first, so we just haven't talked.”

“I'm sure he'd love to hear from you.” Sportacus smiled. He kept his answers short regarding Robbie's brother, considering he had never met the man before. He sounded...interesting, but nice enough to care for Robbie and Ella the way he did.

Robbie was quiet for a moment, fingers idly tracing patterns into Sportacus chest, “I...I'd like you to meet him. Y’know, officially.”

“As your boyfriend?”

“...maybe.”

Sportacus smiled brightly and Robbie found himself being smothered in a bear hug by his boyfriend. He shrieked and struggled for a moment before giving into the surprise embrace.

“I’d love to, Robbie!” Sportacus said with a happy nuzzle against Robbie's head, “I would love to meet your family.

“It's just my brother, it's not like--”

Robbie tried to argue, but found his protests muffled by Sportacus kissing his face excitedly, leaving no part of his face safe from his affection. It reminded Robbie of an excitable puppy.

“Fine, I give, I give!” Robbie laughed, trying in vain to shove Sportacus's face away.

Sportacus finally ceased his affectionate attack and focused instead on one of Robbie's hands, peppering his pale knuckles with soft kisses as he gently massaged the cold flesh, warming it quickly.

He seemed to always pay special attention to his hands...Robbie made a mental note to bring that observation up at a later date. 

“I'm serious, though,” Sportacus said gently, “I'm so happy that you want me to meet your brother.”

“You say that now,” Robbie chuckled, “just wait until you meet him.”

  
  


Robbie's relationship with his brother was...complicated, to say the very least. Gianni had always been a troublemaker, as far back as Robbie could remember and long before then from the stories he had heard growing up.

Maybe it was in his blood, or he was simply the product of the environment they had grown up in. The slums of Active City were not a place for children, unless you were set on raising little hellish criminals wielding stolen box cutters with the confidence of a mob boss. Whatever it may have been, Glanni was famous in the dark alleys of the city, his name spoken with fear or spat out with contempt.

And yet, beyond his criminal record, Gianni was a good person. When their father abandoned them in their shabby apartment for the last time, Gianni could have easily gone on the run and left his weak, little brother behind. But he didn't.

He took care of Robbie, fed him, clothed him, and kept him in school. His methods may have been...unconventional(illegal), but it was all to give Robbie a chance at normal childhood. Gianni complained, yelled, and fought anything that moved or looked at him wrong, but he didn't leave. 

Even after Robbie graduated, got married, had a kid, suddenly cut contact, then became the victim of his abusive marriage -- Gianni still took Robbie and his daughter in. 

He was the one that dragged Robbie from his bed when he was broken, empty. He cursed all the while, but he still did it. So, yeah, Glanni deserved to eat dinner with Robbie's newfound family. It was the absolute least thing he could do for his brother.

  
  


Ella was surprised when Robbie told her of his plan to invite het Uncle Glanni over for dinner. She hadn't thought about her uncle very much after they moved out of his tiny apartment, too focused on her own emotional uncertainty to focus on the man. The more she thought about him, though, the more she realized that she owed a lot to him.

He was the first person she called when her mother left, after all.

  
  


_ Ella found herself in a haze after her last interaction with Dianna. She was in denial, waiting by the door for her mom to return, to tell her she was kidding, that it was all an elaborate prank, laugh and for everything to go back to normal.  _

_ After two whole days, the dread finally set in, leaving Ella feeling angry, hurt, betrayed, and empty all at once. She cried as she ate the leftovers in the fridge and huddled on the couch under a pile of blankets, attempting to hide from her own current of emotions.  _

_ It took her a long time to remember her dad, but she was furious the moment he came to her mind. Where was he? What had he done to make her mom leave? She needed answers and was hellbent on getting them as she stomped into her parents’ room and wrenched the door open. _

_ She was met with the site of a gutted room, dresser drawers wrenched open and lying strewn on the floor, the closet door wide open and half-empty, the vanity of the desk wiped clean of her mother’s makeup and jewelry box. It would have disturbed her had she not been so focused on the lump inhabiting her parents’ bed. _

_ Ella floundered for a moment, not sure of what to say as she glared daggers into the still form of her father on the bed. Had he been in bed the whole time? _

_ “What did you do?!” Ella shrieked after a moment, too angry to even consider how her father was taking the situation. He was the villain, in her eyes. _

_ The lump on the bed flinched violently and curled in on itself, but did not respond or even turn to look at the girl. That just made Ella even angrier. _

_ “Answer me!” Ella spat, stomping closer to the bed, “Mom is gone, I know she left because of you, she told me!” _

_ Looking back, Ella would always regret the way she spoke to her grieving father. She wouldn't know for a long time that her father was the victim and had been suffering for her sake. She didn't know. _

_ Robbie was quiet for a long, long time. Ella was ready to start screaming again, but a strangled, rough sound coming from her dad, that she realized was him speaking. _

_ “Ella…” Robbie spoke roughly, voice terrifyingly quiet and hoarse, sounding like an empty shell of a living being, “I can't do this right now. I'm sorry.”  _

_ “Don't apologize to me,” Ella spat, ignoring her father's obvious suffering, “apologize to mom for whatever you did. I want my mom back.” _

_ “I-I tried, Ella,” Robbie croaked out, voice thick and shaking, “She's not c-coming back.”  _

_ “Because of whatever you did! She left because of you!” Ella continued her tirade, too angry to think of the effect of her accusations. If she could go back and keep her mouth shut, she would have. But that time was before she understood the person her mother was, before knew it wasn't Robbie's fault.  _

_ Robbie very suddenly let out a horrible, strangled noise as he sat up, giving Ella enough time to take in his face before he shoved his head into his hands to muffle his loud sobs. _

_ His face shone with hours worth of tears and his own misery. The look in his red, wet eyes was crazed with agony, yet so empty at the same time. Ella stumbled back in shock as he began to cry into his hands, his body heaving with the force of his sobbing. She had never seen him like that before...it scared her.  _

_ “I'm sorry!” Robbie wailed, fingers clawing at the skin of his face, “It's all my fault! I tried, Ella, I tried so hard!” _

_ Anything else he tried to say was lost in his agonized sobbing and heaving apologises. Ella watched in terrified silence as she watched her own father fell apart in front of her. She didn't move until his sobs died down and he became eerily silent, eyes staring off into nothing. _

_ “My wallet is in my office. You can order food if you want, but I can't…” _

_ Robbie’s voice trailed off and he shook his head, not even looking at Ella as his eyes glazed over and he became still, lost to the world. _

 

_ Ella waited for her dad to come out of his room and give her some form of explanation or some idea of what they would do next. She ordered dinner with the cash in his wallet, knocking quietly and announcing softly that there was food for him in the kitchen, waiting for him to open the door and join her.  _

_ He never did. _

_ He didn't even respond and she was too afraid to open his door and ask again.  _

_ Her remaining parent was unresponsive, leaving her alone and unsure of what to do. She was still angry and confused, but her father's terrifying silence concerned her too much for her to focus on those feelings.  _

_ She was in over her head and needed help, but couldn't think of anyone to turn to. The other adults in her lives were all friends of her mom and very openly didn't care for her dad. They for sure wouldn't put in the effort to help them without her mom in the picture.  _

_ While Ella struggled to think of a solution, she suddenly remembered the one person her father spoke of fondly: his brother, Glanni. _

_ Dianna hated Glanni and forbid him from the apartment, telling Ella time and time again that he was a horrible person. Ella never quite believed her, but never questioned it, until then.  _

_ She remembered something her father had told her awhile ago, late at night in a hushed, sad tone, presumably so that her mother wouldn't hear.  _   
  


_ “If something bad and happens and you don't know who to go to,” Robbie said while scribbling something down into a sticky note, “call this number, it's your uncle Glanni’s.” _

_ “I thought we weren't supposed to talk to him,” Ella had said, confused by her dad's actions. Why would she ever need to call someone that wasn't her mommy or daddy? _

_ “You're right, but this will be here if you ever need it,” Robbie explained gently, “your mommy doesn't like him, but he will help you if I can't.” _

_ She hadn't questioned it any further watching as her father placed the sticky note far back into one of his desk drawers.  _

_ She understood what her dad meant, then. He had known something like this would happen, long before she had even begun to question her mother's actions. How long had the unhappiness been going on…? How could she not have seen it sooner? Could she have done something, anything? _

_ Ella shoved those questions aside in her mind, instead focusing on finding that number. She found it crumpled in her father's desk, but thankfully could still make out the the numbers written on it. _ __   
_ Ella dialed the number that was scribbled onto the wrinkled sticky note, wondering what she would say if he picked up. She could barely remember the last time she had seen her uncle, only remembering him getting into a fight with her mother. _ __   
__   
_ She'd hated him then...but that was because her mother told her to. What was she supposed to think now? _ __   
__   
_ The phone began to ring and anxiety flowed freely through her head. What would she say? Would her uncle remember her, or even want to help? She couldn't be certain of anything at that moment. _ __   
__   
_ The sound of someone picking up cut off her nervous thoughts, making her focus on the voice immediately coming through the phone's speaker. _ __   
__   
_ "Segðu kærastinn þinn, mér er alveg sama hvort mamma hans hafi verið stunginn, ég vil peningana mína!" Th biting voice came through the phone as soon as the phone was picked up, making Ella even more anxious. _ __   
__   
_ Ella didn't understand anything he was saying, but did recognize it as Icelandic. Her father had tried to teach her when she was little, but suddenly stopped. The only Icelandic she heard from then on was when her father cursed and mumbled to himself while he worked. _ __   
__   
_ "...Uncle Glanni?" Ella spoke up hesitantly, cutting off the Icelandic man's angry rambling. _ __   
__   
_ "Who is this?" Glanni asked in English, voice slow and suspicious. _ __   
__   
_ "I-It's Ella, your niece?" Ella offered, fearing that she had the wrong number, or her uncle didn't even remember her. _ __   
__   
_ There was a beat of silence before the man spoke again, this time with more warmth, though still suspicious in his tone of voice. _ __   
__   
_ "Shit, Ella? I haven't seen you in forever," Glanni laughed softly, "how did you get this number? Pretty sure your mom doesn't want you talking to me. You should probably hang up before she finds out-" _ __   
__   
_ "Mom left." Ella cut her uncle off quickly, not wanting him to hang up on her. _ __   
__   
_ "What do you mean by 'left'?" Glanni asked, "did she go somewhere?" _ __   
__   
_ Ella took a deep breath, willing herself to not get emotional, "Mom packed her things a few days ago and...left. She hasn't come back." _ __   
__   
_ More silence from Glanni's end, thick and oppressive. _ __   
__   
_ "...shit," Glanni finally breathed out, "she  _ left _ left." _ __   
__   
_ "Yeah.." Ella replied softly, sniffling to try and control the tears threatening to spill, "I don't know what to do." _ __   
__   
_ "Well, where's Robbie?" Glanni asked, "I feel like this is more of a dad thing than a mom thing." _ __   
__   
_ "He hasn't left his room, I can't get him to come out," Ella answered, staring at her dad's bedroom door, "he hasn't gotten out of bed in days and I don't know what to do." _ __   
__   
_ The girl left the part out about her screaming at him until he cried and shut down completely. She hadn't seen her dad like this before and it scared her. What if she made it worse by doing something else? This was beyond her. _ __   
__   
_ Again, Glanni grew quiet as he took in all of the new information. _ __   
__   
_ "You guys still live in that same apartment, right?" Glanni asked finally. Ella could hear shuffling from the phone, like the man was moving around quickly. _ __   
__   
_ "Yeah, why?" _ __   
__   
_ "I'm on my way, just sit tight for a bit," Glanni answered, the sound of a door slamming indicating that he had already left his home. _ __   
  


  
  



	23. Chapter 23

_ Ella ran to the front door as soon as she heard the tinny chime of the doorbell, having grown antsy in the thirty minutes she had waited. _

_ She wrenched open the door and was met with the site of her uncle, still somewhat familiar despite the years that had passed since she had last seen the man. _

_ He looked nothing like her father, yet so much like him at the same time. The shape of his face and the sculpted, long set of his nose, his cheeks, his jaw, resembled Robbie's almost exactly, while the rest of him was rough and gaudy in comparison. _

_ Glanni appeared rumpled, like he had left his place in a hurry. His threadbare, ill-fitting Hello Kitty pajama pants contrasted with the Iron Maiden crop-top and leather jacket he had thrown on inside-out. But he was there and Ella couldn't find it in herself to care about his confusing wardrobe decisions. _

_ “Hey, kid,” Glanni greeted with a half-grin, voice deep and scratchy with a mixture cigarettes and his first language sneaking into his tone, “drove here as fast as I could. Might've run some red lights, but it's whatever.” _

_ “Thank you.” Ella responded meekly, stepping aside to let him into the apartment. _

_ Glanni ruffled the girl’s hair as he stepped into the apartment, appearing wary of the space despite it being relatively empty. Ella tried to swat his hand away, but the man just chuckled and dodged her weak hits.  _

_ “I'm sure we've got some catching up to do, family bonding and all that bullshit--” Glanni paused and considered his words, before shrugging nonchalantly, “eh, your dad can tell me off for cursing in front of you later, that's the least of our concerns right now, yeah?” _

_ Ella was silent, not sure how to act around the man. He was basically a stranger with a bad reputation to her, how could she trust him? Then again, she'd trusted her mother, and look what happened.  _

_ Glanni seemed to pick up on her uncomfortable silence and switched tactics, “Alright, kid, you wanna sit tight while I deal with your dad?” _

_ Ella finally spoke up, “What's wrong with him?” _

_ The man stared at his niece for a long moment, face shifting as he tried to come up with an explanation that wouldn't upset her. He wasn't exactly keen on explaining Robbie's possible mental breakdown and major depressive episode to a...nine, ten year old? God, he was out of the loop. _

_ Glanni settled on sighing loudly and shrugging, “How about we save the hard questions for later, yeah? He must've gotten so upset that his brain couldn't handle it, if that makes any sense.” _

_ That was all he could think to say before he wandered over to Robbie’s bedroom, leaving his confused niece in the living room.  _

_ He didn't bother knocking or calling out to his brother before he opened the door and barged inside the bedroom. True to Ella’s word, Robbie lay in bed, looking fairly corpse-like from beneath his rumpled blankets. _

_ “Wakey wakey, brother dear.” Glanni trilled shrilly as he entered the room, effectively startling his brother enough to make him sit up. _

_ “Glanni?” Robbie gaped, his voice rough with barely hidden tears and days of not speaking, “What are you doing here?” _

_ Glanni stared at his brother in shock, but tried to not let his growing concern show. After hearing that She Who Must Not Be Named had left and that Robbie wouldn't leave his room, he had expected his little brother to look a bit rough, nothing he hadn't seen before. But this...this was far worse than he had imagined it to be. Robbie didn't just look heartbroken, he looked shattered, gutted, empty of any light he may have had in the past. He obviously hadn't slept, despite having not left his bed, if the bags under his bloodshot, puffy eyes were any indication. His gaunt face framed by his unkempt, greasy hair showed that he hadn't eaten or showered, either. Glanni would have been grossed out had not been so concerned. _

_ What had he missed since they had last spoken? He should've known his bitch wife had something to do with Robbie cutting contact with him. He should have known. _

_ Glanni quickly shook himself from his own horrified thoughts, focusing instead on helping his suffering brother. _

_ “Your spawn called, I'm surprised she had my number,” Glanni explained, slowly approaching the bed as to not startle his brother. _

_ “I...I-I wrote it down and hid it,” Robbie stuttered out, clearly having trouble focusing, “in case she needed help and I couldn't…” _

_ Robbie trailed off, looking lost as his train of thought derailed and the haze took over. Recognizing this, Glanni snapped his fingers in front of Robbie’s face to bring him back to the present, then let his hand rest on his knee in an attempt to ground him. _

_ “Look, it's clear you don't want to talk about it,” Glanni sighed, squeezing the man's knee, “but it's also clear that something really fucked up happened here, if your daughter is calling me of all people for help. So I'm going to help you and we’re gonna figure this shit out together, okay? You've just gotta work with me.” _

_ Robbie’s breath hitched and he nodded numbly, “O-okay.” _

_ The man's gaze dropped and he stared at his fidgeting head as his muddled brain tried to think of something, anything to say to his brother. He began to choke up, somehow still having tears to shed despite the days of marathon crying. _

_ “H-How can you still help me after how I treated you?” Robbie asked with a sob, “I don't deserve it, I-I'm so sorry--” _

_ Then, Glanni made a mistake. If he had any sense he wouldn't have done it, but how could he have known?  _

_ He knew a self-deprecating ramble was soon to follow Robbie’s desperate apologizes, so in true older brother fashion, Glanni went to gently smack his brother's cheek to stop him. A gentle smack, nothing more. _

_ He didn't expect Robbie to flinch back violently, nearly falling off the bed as he did so, covering his face as his sobs became loud and strangled. Oh god, he was having a panic attack over a joking smack, something he did all the time before... _

_ What the fuck did Dianna do to her brother? _

_ Throwing caution to the wind, Glanni held his brother close to him in a tight hug, pressing Robbie’s head to his chest so that he could hear his breathing, his heartbeat. He ran his own shaking fingers through his trembling brother’s hair, only his tremors came from rage. _

_ Robbie fought him for a moment, his uncoordinated hands scrambling against Glanni’s arms in an attempt to escape, but he eventually calmed and gave into the embrace. He hugged his brother back, desperate for closeness and comfort after days of isolated suffering. _

_ In Robbie's struggle, He noticed something that made his blood boil even hotter. Cigarette burns peaked out from beneath Robbie’s sleeves and Glanni knew immediately who put them there. Robbie didn't smoke and Glanni was certain he wouldn't take up the habit after having his daughter. But Dianna did, he had seen her smoking several times before she banned him from the apartment. _

_ He didn't bring it up, instead hugging his little brother tighter. _

  
  


_ After some struggle, Glanni somehow managed to get Robbie into the shower. The first attempt was somewhat of a disaster when Robbie's low blood sugar caused him to all but collapse after Glanni left the bathroom to give him some privacy.  _

_ A handful of crackers and a few sips of water later, Glanni let Robbie finish the rest of his shower in peace, though he kept his ears open just in case something else happened. _

_ While his brother showered, Glanni focused on gathering Robbie’s clothes and other essentials into a couple of travel bags he found around the bedroom. It was obvious that he couldn't just leave Robbie alone in the apartment his ex had abandoned him in, especially not with Ella in the equation. His own apartment wasn't the nicest, but it was better than being surrounded by the reminders of the person that hurt him for so long.  _

_ Glanni left a change of clothes on the bed and sought out his niece, ready to give her a rundown of his plan. He wasn't exactly good with kids, especially ones going through a their mother leaving and the remaining parent going to a nervous breakdown.  _

_ Ella was in the living room where he had left her, sitting on the floor with her knees to her chest, distractedly tracing patterns into the carpet with her fingers. She was a sad sight to see, a young girl bombarded with problems a normal child shouldn't have to face alone. Glanni gave a quiet sigh, preparing himself to approach his melancholic niece.  _

_ “Sup, kid.” Glanni greeted quietly, moving to crouch in front of her at eye level, so she didn't feel intimidated by him. _

_ Ella just shrugged, not even bothering to look up from the floor. _

_ Glanni quickly changed tactics, realising questions and gentle prodding wouldn't get them anywhere, “So here's what's gonna happen, kid. I need you to go and pack some clothes and whatever else you think you'll need, you and your dad are gonna stay at my place until we figure this shit out, alright?” _

_ Ella finally looked up from the carpet, face pinched into a confused scowl.  _

_ “I don't want to leave.” She said simply, without hesitation. _

_ Glanni sighed heavily. He knew her quiet compliance wouldn't last long -- being her parents’ child, afterall, she was guaranteed to be a stubborn little thing since before she was born. _

_ “Sorry to break it to you, but you don't have much of a choice in the matter,” Glanni said, trying his best to be considerate and patient, but losing the battle quickly. He really just needed the kid to work with him, then he could start becoming more attuned to the whole ‘supportive and kind, yet cool uncle’ position, “Robbie doesn't need to stay here and since you are a literal child, you aren't staying here, either. He needs to stay with me so I can look out for him until he can think clearly, then I'm going to help him with your whole mom situation..” _

_ The girl didn't seen the least bit convinced by his explanation, her scowl becoming less confused and more frustrates, angry almost. _

_ “I don't want to leave just because dad did something stupid to make mom go away” Ella snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at her uncle, “if mom comes back, I want to be here so I can go with her.” _

_ It appeared Dianna had fucked with her own daughter too, in a different, less brutal, way than her husband. Glanni was going to kill that bitch the next chance he got.  _

_ “Alright, so, you're wrong,” Glanni replied simply, standing up from his crouched position on the floor, “I'm not arguing with you because there isn't an argument to have. You can get pissed at me all you want, but you and your dad are staying with me, and of story.” _

_ Ella looked like she was about to snap back at Glanni, but he held up his hand and gave the girl a sharp, pointed look. _

_ “Now go pack some clothes before I start picking outfits for you.” Glanni said, gesturing to his atrocious outfit almost threateningly. _

_ The girl stared at his ensemble for.a second before paling and running off in the direction of her room. _

  
_  
_

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a kudos or a comment! The little writing goblin inside of me runs on feedback and Flaming Hot Cheetos.


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